RAF jets carry out joint strikes on ISIS-occupied base storing weapons in Syria
RAF Typhoons bombed ISIS targets in Syria in a joint operation with France, the Ministry of Defense said on Saturday night.
British forces have targeted an underground facility where ISIS is suspected of storing weapons, as part of global efforts to prevent the terror group’s re-emergence.
Guided bombs were used, following ‘careful intelligence analysis’, to blow up a series of tunnels leading to the site, whose ancient center is in the mountains near the city of Palmyra.
The MOD said the facility was ‘most likely used to store weapons and explosives’ and it was thought there were no civilians nearby.
Defense Secretary John Healey said the UK was determined to ‘stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies’ to ‘prevent a resurgence’ of the terrorist movement also known as the Islamic State.
He thanked members of the armed forces who participated in the operation ‘to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life’.
The mission saw RAF Typhoon FGR4s and a Voyager refueling tanker deployed alongside French military aircraft.
The MOD said the Paveway IV guided bombs were dropped on precise targets and initial indications were that the mission was successful.
Here, a Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft is seen preparing for takeoff before joining a mission to attack an ISIS-occupied base in Syria.
Royal Air Force pilots are seen here preparing the Typhoon aircraft before takeoff
The joint action by British and French allies follows in the footsteps of the US, which launched a ‘major offensive’ against ISIS in Syria in response to a deadly attack on American forces there last month.
US planes hit more than 70 targets affiliated with the terrorist organization in the country.
These included ISIS fighter settlements, weapons depots and other infrastructure; Jordanian warplanes were also supporting the operation called Operation Hawkeye Strike.
This was touted as ‘revenge’ for the killing of two National Guard members and a translator and the wounding of three American soldiers in an attack on a convoy in the town of Palmyra on December 13.
ISIS was defeated militarily in 2019, shelving its vision of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria and subsequently forcing its surviving militants to go underground.
But they have since regrouped in various places, including Syria, Iraq, West Africa, East Africa and Afghanistan.
ISIS has been regrouping since its military defeat in 2019
The company’s new global leader is believed to be Abdulkadir Mumin (pictured), who we revealed has a British wife and three children living in Slough.
A Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft seen taking off here before Saturday’s attack
The company’s new global leader is believed to be Abdulkadir Mumin, who has a British wife and three children living in Slough, the Daily Mail revealed last month.
It is now based in a remote mountainous region of northern Somalia and leads a global terror campaign with 1,200 experienced fighters at its disposal.
Known for his striking orange-dyed beard, pearly white teeth and fiery rhetoric, he has been identified as one of the world’s most wanted terrorists.
Mumin survived several assassination attempts against him during operations by US ground and air forces and Somali troops.
