Coordinated Anglo-French Airstrike Strikes Islamic State Weapons Depot in the Syrian region
Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of entry passages leading to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," he said. "They were among numerous UK service members deployed over the festive period. This action, to remove militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an assault killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
