DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — British and French warplanes carried out an airstrike in central Syria targeting an underground facility where members of the Islamic State group were believed to be storing weapons and explosives, Britain's Defense Ministry said Sunday.
The ministry said in a statement that the attacks occurred on Saturday evening on a structure in the mountains north of the historic city of Palmyra in Homs province.
Britain and France are part of a US-led coalition that has been fighting IS militants for more than a decade.
The ministry said the British military used Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets, supported by the Voyager tanker tanker, and was joined by French aircraft in the joint strike. The statement said the RAF used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of tunnels leading to the site and, although a detailed assessment is being carried out, initial indications are that “the target was successfully hit.”
“This action demonstrates our British leadership and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies to stamp out any resurgence” of IS and its “violent ideologies” in the Middle East, Defense Secretary John Healey said.
The Syrian government has not commented on the strikes. Syria joined the coalition against IS late last year.
Despite defeat in Syria in 2019, IS sleeper cells continue to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq, where the extremists once declared a caliphate. UN experts say IS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members in its former strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
Last month, the Trump administration launched military strikes in Syria to “destroy” IS militants and weapons facilities in response to an ambush near Palmyra that days earlier killed two American soldiers and an American civilian translator.
