Coordinated British-French Aerial Assault Targets Islamic State Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.

The site, identified by surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was located in hills just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of approach shafts leading to the facility... early reports suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.

There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

Daesh - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria until 2019.

"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.

UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.

"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."

In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against IS targets in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The U.N. reports Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.