Joint UK-French Aerial Assault Strikes Daesh Weapons Depot in the Syrian region
British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of approach shafts leading to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - imposed militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were among numerous British troops on duty over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our security, shows how British military are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
In December, the US military carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN reports Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.