Combined British-French Aerial Assault Targets Islamic State Arms Cache in the Syrian region

British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.

The site, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a series of approach shafts down to the site... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.

There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.

The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.

Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.

UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were numerous British troops deployed over the festive period. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."

During December, the US military conducted what it called a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

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