Combined British-French Airstrike Strikes Daesh Arms Cache in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.

The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels leading to the depot... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the ministry further stated.

The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike underscores British leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.

RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," Healey said. "They were among numerous British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out militants who threaten our way of life, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and powerful internationally."

In December, the American forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The UN estimates Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.