By PATRICK HARRINGTON

Published: 22:41 GMT, 3 January 2026 | Updated: 00:44 GMT, 4 January 2026

RAF Typhoons bombed ISIS targets in Syria in a joint operation with France, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday night.

British forces targeted an underground facility where ISIS was suspected to have been storing weapons, as part of the global effort to stop the terror group rearing its head once more.

Guided bombs were used to blitz a number of tunnels leading into the site, set in the mountains near the ancient central city of Palmyra, after 'careful intelligence analysis'.

The facility was 'most likely used to store weapons and explosives', and there were not thought to be civilians nearby, the MOD said.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK was determined to 'stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies' to 'stamp out any resurgence' of the terrorist movement, also known as the Islamic State.

He thanked members of the armed forces involved in the operation 'to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life'.

The mission saw RAF Typhoon FGR4s and a Voyager refuelling tanker deployed alongside French military aircraft.

Paveway IV guided bombs were dropped onto precise targets - and initial indications suggest the mission was a success, the MOD said.

A Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft is seen here preparing to take-off before joining a mission to strike an ISIS-occupied base in Syria

Royal Air Force pilots are seen here preparing Typhoon aircraft before take-off

The joint action by British and French allies follows the lead of the US, which last month carried out a 'massive strike' on ISIS in Syria in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country.

US planes struck over 70 targets in the country linked to the terror organisation.

Among them were IS fighter compounds, weapon dumps and other infrastructure, with Jordanian fighter jets supporting what was dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike.

It was touted as 'vengeance' for the killings of two National Guard members and an interpreter on December 13 in an attack on a convoy in the town of Palmyra, which also injured three American soldiers.

ISIS was militarily defeated in 2019, putting to bed its vision of an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria, after which its surviving militants were forced underground.

However, they have since been regrouping in various locations including Syria, Iraq, West Africa, East Africa and Afghanistan.

ISIS has been regrouping since its military defeat in 2019 

It's new global leader is believed to be Abdul Qadir Mumin (pictured) who we revealed to have a British wife and three children living in Slough