Joint Anglo-French Aerial Assault Hits Islamic State Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the IS group, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The location, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels leading to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.

There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.

UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.

"I want to thank the personnel of British forces participating in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many British troops on duty over the holidays. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."

During December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.

The United Nations reports IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.