British and French warplanes strike suspected IS weapons facility in Syria

A honor guard soldier holds on to a flag stand. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

DAMASCUS, Syria — Britain and France carried out a joint airstrike in central Syria on an underground facility where members of the Islamic State group are suspected to have stored weapons and explosives.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement guided bombs were used Saturday evening to target a number of access tunnels down to the structure in the mountains just north of the historic town of Palmyra in the country’s Homs province.

The two countries are part of the U.S.-led coalition that has been fighting IS militants for more than a decade.

Britain’s defense ministry said Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets were supported by a Voyager refueling tanker, and were joined by French aircraft in the strike. It said Paveway IV guided bombs targeted a number of access tunnels down to the facility and initial indications suggest the target was “engaged successfully.”

Defence Secretary John Healey said the U.K. was determined to “stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies” to “stamp out any resurgence” of IS.

“This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad,” he said.

The French military said in a statement Sunday on X that the strikes were aimed at “preventing the resurgence” of the IS group as “the fight against terrorism remains a priority” for France and its partners.

There was no immediate comment from Syria’s government on the strikes. Syria joined the anti-IS coalition late last year.

Despite its defeat in Syria in 2019, IS sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq where the extremists once declared their caliphate. UN experts say IS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq.

Last month, the Trump administration launched military strikes in Syria to “eliminate” IS fighters and weapons sites in retaliation for an ambush attack near Palmyra that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter days earlier.