Coordinated Anglo-French Aerial Assault Hits IS Arms Cache in Syria

RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.

The location, located using intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

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

The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any revival of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.

UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces participating in this mission for their skill and their courage," he said. "Including them were a great many British personnel on duty over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."

In December, the US military executed what it described as a "massive strike" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.

The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.