Overview
- RAF Typhoon jets, supported by a Voyager tanker, dropped Paveway‑IV guided bombs on a tunnel network north of Palmyra late Saturday.
- London reported a joint operation with French forces and said the strike likely hit its target, with assessments ongoing and no immediate statement from Paris.
- The Ministry of Defence said the area had no nearby civilian settlements and all aircraft returned to base safely.
- Defence Secretary John Healey framed the mission as a preventive step against IS rebuilding after the group’s territorial defeat in 2019.
- The strike follows recent U.S. attacks on more than 70 IS sites after three Americans were killed, as small IS cells in Syria and Iraq remain active.