Joint Anglo-French Air Strike Targets Islamic State Munitions Store in Syria

RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with 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 location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"The RAF jets used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of entry passages leading to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.

Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.

"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.

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

"I must thank every member of British forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to take out militants who threaten our safety, highlights how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and powerful internationally."

In December, the American forces conducted what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.

The UN estimates IS still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.