Coordinated Anglo-French Airstrike Strikes Daesh Munitions Store in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, per a report from the UK's MoD.

The site, identified by surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several entry passages down to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.

There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced militant control over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister remarked.

UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," he commented. "They were among numerous British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."

Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.