Coordinated Anglo-French Airstrike Hits Islamic State Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the IS group, as stated by the British defence ministry.

The facility, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a several entry passages providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.

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

The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

Daesh - referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any revival of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.

RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," Healey commented. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This action, to remove militants who threaten our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."

In December, the American forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

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