Coordinated UK-French Aerial Assault Strikes Daesh Weapons Depot in Syria

RAF Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.

The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of access tunnels leading to the site... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.

There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.

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

The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.

RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their valour," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, shows how British military are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."

Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations reports IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.