Coordinated British-French Airstrike Targets Daesh Weapons Depot in the Syrian region
Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in hills just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of entry passages down to the depot... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their skill and their valour," Healey commented. "They were part of thousands of UK service members on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove militants who endanger our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.