Combined Anglo-French Air Strike Strikes Daesh Arms Cache in the Syrian region
Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels leading to the facility... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their valour," Healey added. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, following an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
