ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The British and French forces on Saturday carried out a rare joint operation, targeting an Islamic State group facility in the Syrian desert, said UK's defence ministry.
“Careful intelligence analysis identified an underground facility, in the mountains some miles north of the ancient site of Palmyra [in Homs province]. This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation,” said the British ministry in a statement late Saturday.
UK’s Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Typhoon FGR4s were involved in the operation, it added. “Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility; whilst detailed assessment is now underway, initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully. There is no indication of any risk having been posed to civilians by the strike, and all our aircraft returned safely.”
The French defence ministry has not commented on the campaign.
The Syrian desert, known as the Badia, remains the primary stronghold for ISIS remnants. This vast, sparsely populated region—covering roughly half of Syria’s total landmass—provides ideal terrain for an underground insurgency.
UK’s Defence Secretary John Healey was cited in his ministry’s statement as saying the action “shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East.”
Most of the anti-ISIS aerial strikes in Syria have been carried out by the US, which leads the global coalition against the group. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - which defeated ISIS in 2019 with the help of the coalition - had been the main on-the-ground ally of the military alliance until the Syrian new government joined it in November.
I want to thank all the members of our Armed Forces involved in this operation, for their professionalism and their courage. pic.twitter.com/txdNeHRsfq