Joint British-French Air Strike Hits Daesh Arms Cache in the Syrian region

RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.

The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.

There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.

The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq until 2019.

"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.

RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.

"I must thank every member of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey said. "They were part of thousands of British personnel on duty over the holidays. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and strong abroad."

In December, the US military executed what it termed a "major assault" against Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.

The United Nations estimates IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.