Coordinated Anglo-French Air Strike Hits Daesh Weapons Depot in the Syrian region
Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of approach shafts leading to the depot... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their valour," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of British troops stationed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how British military are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military conducted what it called a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
