Combined Anglo-French Air Strike Hits Islamic State Arms Cache in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, according to the British defence ministry.

The location, located using intelligence, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just 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 providing entry to the depot... early reports indicate the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.

There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.

Daesh - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.

"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.

UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces participating in this operation for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."

During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.

The UN reports IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.