Coordinated UK-French Airstrike Targets Daesh Arms Cache in Syria

RAF Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.

The site, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.

"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of access tunnels leading to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.

There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.

The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.

IS - also known as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This operation demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.

British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I extend gratitude to the personnel of British forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."

Last December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, following an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The UN reports Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.