Combined British-French Air Strike Hits Daesh Weapons Depot in Syria

RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of access tunnels leading to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.

There was no indication of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.

The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.

"This strike shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.

British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were a great many British personnel stationed over the holidays. This action, to remove militants who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."

In December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.