Coordinated UK-French Aerial Assault Hits Daesh Arms Cache in the Syrian region

Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.

The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.

There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.

The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.

IS - also known as Daesh - established militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This strike underscores British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.

British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I extend gratitude to every member of our armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," he said. "They were part of numerous British troops stationed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."

In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.

The United Nations reports Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.