Joint British-French Air Strike Targets Islamic State Arms Cache in Syria

British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French aircraft in a combined operation targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.

The location, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several access tunnels leading to the depot... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.

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

The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.

Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.

UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their bravery," he added. "They were part of thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."

Last December, the American forces executed what it described as a "major assault" against Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.

The United Nations estimates Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.