Coordinated Anglo-French Aerial Assault Targets Daesh Weapons Depot in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.

The location, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.

There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.

The British jets were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This action shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.

British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate militants who endanger our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and strong abroad."

Last December, the American forces carried out what it termed a "major assault" on Daesh sites in Syria, following an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.

The U.N. estimates Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.