Coordinated British-French Airstrike Strikes Daesh Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, per a report from the UK's MoD.

The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels down to the depot... early reports are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.

There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.

The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.

British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were a great many British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."

In December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.

The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.