Combined UK-French Air Strike Targets Islamic State Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the IS group, according to the UK's MoD.

The facility, located using intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.

"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of approach shafts providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.

There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

IS - also known as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.

British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I must thank every member of British forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their courage," Healey said. "They were among numerous British troops stationed over the holidays. This action, to remove militants who endanger our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."

Last December, the US military executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, after an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.

The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.