Joint British-French Air Strike Hits Daesh Arms Cache in Syria
Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of approach shafts leading to the facility... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their courage," Healey added. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in both countries.
