Joint UK-French Air Strike Hits Daesh Arms Cache in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of access tunnels down to the facility... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.

There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned safely, the MoD added.

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

Daesh - also known as ISIS - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.

RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of numerous British personnel on duty over the festive period. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."

During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "major assault" against IS targets in Syria, following an attack killed two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations says IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.