Coordinated British-French Aerial Assault Hits IS Arms Cache in the Syrian region

Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.

The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.

"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... early reports are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.

There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.

"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.

RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among a great many UK service members deployed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."

Last December, the American forces executed what it called a "major assault" on IS targets in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.

The United Nations says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.