Royal Air Force aircraft have conducted joint airstrikes against a Daesh underground facility in Syria alongside French forces, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on 3 January 2026.
The operation followed ongoing RAF patrols aimed at preventing any resurgence of Daesh following its military defeat at Baghuz Fawqani in 2019. Intelligence analysis identified an underground site in mountainous terrain north of Palmyra that was assessed to have been used by Daesh to store weapons and explosives. The location was described as being clear of civilian habitation.
RAF Typhoon FGR4 aircraft, supported by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker, took part in the strike on the evening of Saturday 3 January. The aircraft employed Paveway IV precision-guided bombs to target multiple access tunnels leading into the underground facility. Initial assessments indicate the target was successfully engaged, with no evidence of civilian harm. All RAF aircraft returned safely.
The Ministry of Defence stated that post-strike analysis is ongoing.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
“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.
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. 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.”
The strike forms part of the UK’s ongoing contribution to counter-terrorism operations in the region and reflects continued coordination with European allies to prevent Daesh from re-establishing operational capability in Syria.
Is Syria to become a UK and France problem now? Uncle Sam is likely to be busy
You guys can have it
The French and the UK invented Syria. It’s always been your problem. You might want to study history.
you mean for the couple of decades after the Sykes Picot agreement that saw an end to Ottoman’s centuries of colonialism?
clearly you don’t know much about the Assyrians, Armorites or Arameans.
maybe you should study some history, before giving lessons to others because you sound like a clown.
I commend your historical knowledge… well done that man!
I bet he’s not really a clown though… eh?
You changed all that in 1948 when you decided to stick your nose in and set up Israel for some corrupt campaign “donations” to Truman.
As Colin Powell said “ you break it you own it”
That being said we are all pretty happy if you f**k off and stay in your own hemisphere as long as you don’t invade Canada or Greenland.
Until that region of the world needs Western financial aid of course.
Everyone wants the West out until they realise they need Western money.
Except they’ll have Chinese money instead now and they can tell the corrupt and hypocritical “west” to fuck off 🐷🤣
Except the hypocrisy comes from those who still blame the west when these countries have had decades to fix the problem. Not to mention some of them get billions in aid every year.
Pretty sure they’ll keep the western gravy train coming in by playing on historic guilt and so-called do-gooders who keep those ancient memories alive. Because if they didn’t, they’d have to deal with their own mess using their own money, right?
Falsely claims the inbred redneck who was probably surprised to learn that the adults in the room were talking about a country in the Middle East rather than a village in Virginia…
Try to learn some history. It might be important for you to see why you’re failing so f****** bad in world history
Can you remind us why syria is such a mess? Tip: it’s linked to an american debacle in Irak.
France was the colonial power in Syria.
Britain was the colonial power in Jordan.
If only Syria had been so lucky, it might enjoy the wealth, stability, and democracy that Jordan does today.
Jordan? Wealthy!? Democratic!?🤣 Deluded righttrash live in their own bubble of misinformation and lies 🤡
I’d like to know your explanation (hopefully not an excuse blaming powers that haven’t been in charge over there for decades) about why Syria is still in the state it’s in.
It feels like people imply such countries and their peoples have no agency at all, they’re somehow still victims of powers that withdrew long ago, leaving them to it.
Of course, the people who imply such things will invent a series of mental gymnastics to get away from saying such countries are currently the cause of many of their own problems. That’s why censorship is taking hold in the West – so we’re not allowed to say it, so we can keep bankrolling it.
• Constitutional monarchy (like the U.K.)
• High HDI
• World Bank classification of ‘lower middle income country’
• life expectancy of 78 years
• $53billion GDP
It’s not perfect. But it’s civilised, with welcoming people. But then I’ve traveled through Jordan, whereas I doubt you’ve ever been outside your village.
Wow !! A magatard lecturing on history.
🤣
The the truth can be entertaining at times 😏
Yeah, pity you’re not acquainted with anything resembling the truth in your delusional excuse for a brain 🤡🤣
Twat.
France and UK caused the problem about 100 years ago… You figure it out?
That’s what’s been going on for a while now.
you mean for the couple of decades after the Sykes Picot agreement that saw an end to Ottoman’s centuries of colonialism?
clearly you don’t know much about the Assyrians, Armorites or Arameans.
maybe you should study some history, before giving lessons to others because you sound like a clown.
Just another troll pretending to be American.
If Ray Spruance is American he is very considerate as he appears to use UK spelling on his comments.
🤣
Hello commrad how is the weather in St Petersburg 😀
Report on “Ray Spruance” comments below from Gemini 3, it’s amazing what AI can do 😂
I suggest you stop pretending to be American Ray.
1. Common British Spellings Used
Ray Spruance frequently utilizes the British “-re” and “-our” endings, which are standard for a UK-based publication:
• “Deterrent” vs. “Deterence”: In a discussion about British forces shrinking (December 2025), he noted: “Hence why it’s called a deterrent.” (While “deterrent” is used in both, the context of the debate centered on British “defence” policy).
• “Programme” vs. “Program”: In discussions regarding the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP/Tempest), he consistently uses the British spelling “programme” when referring to the UK’s procurement timelines.
• “Centres” vs. “Centers”: When discussing logistics or command nodes, he has been seen using the British “centres.”
Must admit I’d beginning to wonder if he was a bit trying to provoke anti-Americanism (not that there isn’t enough about America to dislike at the moment). After, despite all my visits to the USA, I’ve not yet encountered anyone as stupid as Ray…
No the fall of the ottoman empire did that..
France and UK might have caused it 100 years ago… Is it their fault that 100 years have passed and those still living there couldn’t sort themselves out, instead blaming the West while still running to the West with it’s begging bowl out?
Wrong, France was the colonial power in Syria.
Britain was the colonial power in Jordan.
If only Syria had been so lucky, it might enjoy the wealth, stability, and democracy that Jordan dies today.
Wrong. But keep spouting the delusional drivel, it’s entertaining 🤡🤣
You’re the delusional one…. or are you one of these MAGA/Reform types that think facts are simply what you happen to believe at any given moment in time, with no connection to reality…
Hmm on second thoughts, that also counts as delusional….
He’s stated his disdain for white people / countries on another article, so I highly doubt it. This is a lefty. My guess is Irish or Pakistani, as he keeps referring to Britain as ‘your country’.
So he’s a racist, well that’s a delusional mindset 🤷🏻♂️
So because 100 bloody years ago something happened that means forever more it’s the fault of the French and British are u being serious lol no there country’s are a mess because of the people who live there and there inability to be civilised it’s 100% the fault of them not France and the uk
When can we expect the UK to become civilised then? 🤔 Since it’s never shown any sign of it so far (as with your owner, the USA, who you grovel to incessantly 🤮)..
U.K. not civilised… 😂🤣😂
• won more Nobel Prizes that any other country after USA
• created the Industrial Revolution
• invented the steam-engine, railways, electrostatic-motors, electric-lights, electromagnets, peddle bicycle, telephone, fax-machine, television, reflecting telescope, programmable computer, world-wide-web, tank, aircraft-carrier, jet-engine, jet-airliners, atomic-clock, carbon-fibre, touchscreens, human IVF, animal cloning,
• discovered gravity, antibiotics, vaccines, Boolean Algebra, electron, photoconductivity, electroluminescence, public-key encryption, structure of DNA, graphene
• top 6 UK universities usually rank in the top 10/ 20 universities globally (depending which of the indexes you use)
• creatives industries (music, film, etc) have disproportionate reach globally, generating over £120bn
• Shakespeare, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, Dafoe, Austen, Brontes, Tolkien, Orwell, Wells, Woolf, etc,
• Hogarth, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Turner, Constable, Bacon, Freud, Hockney, Banksy, etc
• founding member of the UN, NATO, IMF, G7, OECD, etc
• sixth largest economy
Congratulations on publicly demonstrating how completely and utterly ignorant you are.
You keep falling for his bait bro
Just pointing out his stupidity – and suprised myself too, as that was from memory. God knows what I’ve probably forgotten to include 🤷🏻♂️
The U.K. is one of the most civilised countries on earth we are the pinnacle of civilisation
Hello Girls,
It’s good to have a platform such as this to be able to exchange comments/views and opinions but why all the hate ?
Why all the silly stuff ?
Why throw childish Insults around at each other ?
Seriously, Grow up stop being pathetic, try just being nice.
Handbags at dawn. 😂 The Christmas spirit didn’t last long.
Incitement by Russian trolls
Morning Ian, I just think It’s the usual multi account holders (so bloody obvious “Ray Spruance” ) hiding behind some random name with the childlike intention of winding other posters up !
Every site like this, has these sorts.
Trust this aptly-named user to come in with an incredibly childish mass insult, then blame everyone else for name calling. Halfwit always seems to think they have some kind of point to make; sometimes this is even true. Other times they’re just the one banging on the door and running away, like any good 8 year old.
Bless 🥰
I mean the biggest perpetrator is Spock from what I’ve seen.
Never a day goes by without him hurling insults at people he disagrees with. It’s actually quite funny in its predictability.
Must have a troubled home life 🤷
You’ve just done the same thing…
Hey, you can’t take it don’t dish it out.
The little boy and others on this site will learn that one day. Want respect, show respect.
It’s not a difficult concept
Wrong, France was the colonial power in Syria.
Britain was the colonial power in Jordan.
If only Syria had been so lucky, it might enjoy the wealth, stability, and democracy that Jordan dies today.
You’re the sexual deviant that wishes others female relatives are raped. You’re probably an incel too.
Wet lettuce at fifty paces….ooooh!
Says the inane and tedious (self described) halfwit 🙄🥱
Halfwit is a pure troll who usually has nothing to say that’s worth reading; pity we can’t sue them and get a refund for the oxygen they make other users waste.
So much hate !
Honestly, without meaning to feed the troll, I don’t hate you at all. I am embarrassed for you, I know you want to have your say except you have nothing TO say, that’s why you just insult people.
Why not go away and do some reading about military matters, world politics etc, and come back later when you have something to contribute? Because believe me, as you are now, you have virtually nothing to contribute. Others have called you out on this, not infrequently.
All of us are embarrassing at various points.
You ask what he contributes? He serves to pull the rest of us of our arrogant pomposity with some light-hearted humour. Very, very few of the commenters here have any real qualifications in what they talk about – fewer still bother to provide any sort of sourcing for the claims that we make. Yet, we take ourselves absurdly seriously. Perhaps, it’s best to have a less invested person call us out on our self-indulgence every so often.
I would ask what you believe you bring to the conversation. From what I’ve seen, your comments here have been much the same as everyone else’s
I would wholeheartedly agree Hafwit, what the actual f#ck is going on here, like a group of kids squabbling because teacher left the room…
Is this turning in Facebook 😬😬😬
Not to worry,we won’t be able to afford it soon! Apparently we are now down to 12th in the NATO spending chart!
But in pure cash terms still 3rd.
Where did the French planes fly from?
Jordanie
Thx
Hard one to pin down. They do use bases in Jordan and UAE but apparently they’ll use French bases at times for more specific operations. Undoubtedly refilled by our guys.
The really interesting question for me is by who/what/how these caves were identified, reconnoitred, and highlighted for the bombers.
Undercover Goats.
Disguised as members of the SAS perhaps. Clever.
“Goats move in mysterious ways”
As I’ve said below, we have a limited ground presence in country. We are part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, which includes over 100 countries and organizations working to defeat ISIS militarily, support local forces, and prevent the group from resurging. Most countries don’t strike ISIS targets in Syria for a mix of political, legal, and practical reasons; instead, they support the effort in non-combat ways— training, advising, funding, and reconstruction.
Following from James comments, who are we working with on the ground? I wonder what relationships are developing with the new government ? Nose holding will need to be done, but to get that country settled and not in Russia pocket will be worth the smell.
Kurds
Probably correct, good call.
The US has between 1,000–2,000 (these numbers were from a quick google search so if anyone knows better please correct) troops in Syria working with the SDF — a Kurdish-led, multi-ethnic coalition of local militias on counter-ISIS operations, while the UK and France deploy much smaller forces, likely dozens to hundreds of SF/SOF. Other coalition members contribute minimally on the ground but more with financing/enablers. So we have a limited ground presence to identify and validate targets. The new Syrian government is largely bypassed operationally, and coalition strikes and ground intel are independent of Damascus authority.
Meanwhile, Russia still holds Hmeimim and Tartus, Iran operates via IRGC advisers and proxies, Turkey has a large, permanent presence in the north, and Israel conducts periodic airstrikes. Add in Hezbollah, ISIS remnants, Jordanian support, and Gulf diplomacy, and you get a crowded field shaping Syria’s future — it’ll be very interesting to see what the country looks like in a few years.
Good post 👌🏾
So you’re Syrian.
There has long been an allied ground force base south-east of Palmyra, neat At Tanf, adjacent to Jordan. There was a small Free Syrian Army unit there but I gather it’s now mainly US SF and possibly Brits too.
It’s a good location to monitor and control the main road from Damascus to the Euphrates Valley and to patrol the mountains north of Palmyra, where this air strike occurred.
More war crimes for our tally sheet