Joint UK-French Air Strike Strikes Daesh Weapons Depot in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside France's air force in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.

The site, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of access tunnels down to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.

Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.

British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.

"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of a great many British personnel stationed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."

During December, the US military executed what it described as a "major assault" on Daesh sites in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.