Joint British-French Aerial Assault Targets IS Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The location, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of approach shafts providing entry to the facility... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.

The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

IS - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.

British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.

"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," he commented. "They were part of thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how British military are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."

Last December, the US military carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, after an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations says Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.