Combined Anglo-French Airstrike Hits Daesh Munitions Store in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, according to the British defence ministry.

The location, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of approach shafts down to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.

There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.

The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey stated.

UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their valour," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."

During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.

The UN reports Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.