Coordinated UK-French Airstrike Strikes Daesh Weapons Depot in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.

The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our fighter planes used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a several entry passages leading to the facility... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.

There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

Daesh - also known as ISIS - established militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This operation shows our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.

British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.

"I must thank all the members of British forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our security, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and powerful internationally."

In December, the US military carried out what it called a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an assault killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.

The UN says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.