Coordinated British-French Aerial Assault Hits IS Weapons Depot in Syria
RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the IS group, according to the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a series of entry passages providing entry to the facility... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," he commented. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in the country, following an assault killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
