Coordinated British-French Aerial Assault Hits Islamic State Weapons Depot in Syria
Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels down to the depot... early reports are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their bravery," Healey added. "Including them were a great many British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the US military conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
