A Royal Air Force Typhoon prepares to take off at an undisclosed location in the Middle East to join French aircraft in a joint strike targeting access tunnels to an underground ISIS facility near Palmyra in Syria. Sgt. Lee Goddard/Royal Air Force Handout/EPA
Jan. 4 (UPI) — British and French aircraft conducted a joint strike on Saturday night on an underground facility in Syria used by ISIS to store weapons and explosives.
Royal Air Force Typhoons and a Voyager refueling tanker joined the French aircraft to strike the mountain facility north of Palmyra as part of ongoing patrols to prevent the terrorist group from resurging and regaining ground in Syria, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in a press release.
“This action shows our U.K. leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of [ISIS] and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East,” John Healey, U.K. defense secretary, said in the release.
The Saturday evening strike targeted access tunnels into the facility using Paveway IV guided bombs, with the ministry noting that initial indications show the mission was successful as a more detailed assessment is conducted.
The area around the site is “devoid of civilians habitation,” the ministry said, and there is no indication the bombing posed risks to civilians.
In a post on X, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces posted video from the strikes and said Operation Inherent Resolve, which includes ongoing patrols of the region, is essential to the region’s stability.
“Preventing the resurgence of [ISIS]: a major issue for the security of the region,” the French ministry said in the post. “The fight against terrorism remains a priority for France and the partner countries of the Coalition.”
The British personnel who conducted the mission were deployed over Christmas and the New Year, Healey said, continuing various patrols in Syria, and specifically Palmyra, that have been conducted by an international coalition that includes the United States.
In a lone gunman ambush on a patrol in Palmyra last month, two Iowa National Guard members and a civilian interpreter were killed, in addition to three other U.S. soldiers and two Syrians being shot. The gunman was identified as a member of ISIS.
Officials with Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement on X that although ISIS no longer controls territory, “it continues to operate through residual cells, particularly in remote desert areas.”
