Coordinated Anglo-French Aerial Assault Targets IS Munitions Store in the Syrian region

Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the IS group, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.

The facility, located using surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

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

There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the MoD added.

The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.

UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.

"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their courage," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."

Last December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, subsequent to an assault claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.