Coordinated UK-French Air Strike Hits Daesh Munitions Store in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with France's air force in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The facility, located using intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.

The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This action shows the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.

RAF aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."

During December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.

The United Nations says Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.