Joint British-French Aerial Assault Targets Daesh Munitions Store in Syria

Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The site, located using surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of approach shafts leading to the depot... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.

There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.

Daesh - also known as ISIS - enforced militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This action shows British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.

RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.

"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey commented. "They were part of thousands of British troops stationed over the holidays. This action, to take out militants who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."

Last December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.

The U.N. reports IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.