Joint British-French Aerial Assault Strikes Islamic State Arms Cache in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the IS group, as stated by the UK's MoD.

The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of entry passages providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.

The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

Daesh - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This action underscores British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.

British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of the group following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their valour," he said. "They were part of numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate militants who threaten our way of life, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."

During December, the American forces carried out what it called a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The UN estimates IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.