UK, France bomb ISIS arms bunker in Syria

LONDON: British and French air force jets have conducted intelligence-led strikes to destroy an arms bunker occupied by the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in Syria, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Sunday.

Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker, joined French aircraft in the joint strike on the underground facility on Saturday evening.

According to the MoD, guided bombs were used to target a number of access tunnels down to a bunker linked with ISIS – officially referred to as Daesh. “This 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,” said John Healey, UK Defence Secretary. “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.

“I want to thank all the members of our Armed Forces involved in this operation – for their professionalism and their courage. They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year,” he added.

The ministry said that RAF aircraft have continued to conduct patrols over Syria to help prevent any attempted resurgence of the ISIS terrorist movement, following a military defeat at Baghuz Fawqani in March 2019. “Careful intelligence analysis identified an underground facility, in the mountains some miles north of the ancient site of Palmyra. 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,” the MoD said.agencies