Britain And France Bombed An Underground Islamic State Weapons Cache In Syria

• 4.01.2026, 12:18

The bunker was hit by RAF Typhoon fighters.

British and French combat aircraft patrolling the airspace over Syria conducted an operation to destroy an underground military facility of the Islamic State terrorist group, the British Defense Ministry reported.

"Careful intelligence analysis revealed an underground facility in the mountains a few miles north of the ancient city of Palmyra. This facility was occupied by ISIS militants, most likely to store weapons and explosives," the agency explained. RAF Typhoon FGR4 fighters struck the bunker on January 3. They dropped Paveway IV guided bombs, which hit the tunnels leading to the warehouse. There were no civilian casualties during the operation and all aircraft returned to their bases, the Defense Ministry reported.

"This operation demonstrates Britain's leadership and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies to root out any resurgence of ISIS and its dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," British Defense Secretary John Healey said, commenting on the attack.

According to the UN, between 5,000 and 7,000 IS militants remain active in Syria and Iraq.

On December 13, one of the terrorists killed two American soldiers in Palmyra, also killing another American civilian at his hands. U.S. President Donald Trump promised retaliation, and within a week the U.S. military had struck more than 70 IS targets across Syria, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth reported in X.

In addition, the U.S. Army launched a "powerful and deadly" strike against IS terrorists in northwestern Nigeria later in the year, Trump claimed. A Reuters source in the US administration indicated that the strikes on representatives of the group were carried out at the request of the Nigerian authorities. The African country's Foreign Ministry confirmed the coordination with the US of airstrikes on "terrorist targets."