Coordinated Anglo-French Air Strike Targets Daesh Arms Cache in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.

The location, located using surveillance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several entry passages leading to the site... preliminary assessments are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.

There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night 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 ISIS - established militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.

RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this strike for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were thousands of British troops deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."

During December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The U.N. reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.