British and French Warplanes Strike ISIS Weapons Facility in Central Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria — British and French warplanes carried out a joint airstrike in central Syria early Sunday, targeting an underground facility suspected of storing weapons and explosives for the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group, officials reported.
The operation marks another effort by Western forces to suppress the extremist organization years after its territorial defeat.
According to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence, Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 jets, supported by a Voyager aerial refueling tanker, joined French fighter aircraft in the strike Saturday evening north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Homs province. Intelligence had identified the mountainous site as a former ISIS storage hub with multiple access tunnels leading underground.
Using Paveway IV precision-guided bombs, coalition aircraft hit several tunnel entrances linked to the facility. Initial assessments suggest the target was engaged successfully, and British officials said there were no signs of civilian presence near the site before the strike. All aircraft involved returned safely to base.
British Defence Secretary John Healey emphasized that the operation underscores the United Kingdom’s commitment to standing “shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies” in preventing a renewed rise of ISIS or similar extremist threats in the region. French military officials also reaffirmed their role in counterterrorism efforts.
Although ISIS lost its last declared territorial stronghold in 2019, the group’s sleeper cells and affiliated fighters remain active in parts of Syria and Iraq, occasionally sparking violence and prompting continued vigilance from international forces. United Nations estimates suggest that several thousand ISIS fighters are still present across the region.
The airstrike follows recent military actions by other Western allies aimed at degrading ISIS infrastructure and preventing a resurgence, even as the Syrian conflict remains complex and fragmented years after the end of the civil war.
