UK, France carry out joint strike on ISIL target near Syria’s Palmyra

The UK’s Ministry of Defence says an underground facility likely storing ISIL weapons was the target of the attack, but the area was ‘devoid of any civilian habitation’.Published On 4 Jan 2026The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has said its aircraft joined France in striking an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the ISIL (ISIS) group to store weapons, as the group appears to be resurgent after a period of relative dormancy in the region.“Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France,” the ministry said of the Saturday night attack in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US says it killed or captured 25 ISIL operatives in Syria over nine dayslist 2 of 3Turkiye arrests 125 ISIL suspects in new raids that mark widening crackdownlist 3 of 3Six ISIL fighters, 3 police officers killed in northwest Turkiye raidend of listThe statement said the area, north of the ancient site of Palmyra, was “devoid of any civilian habitation”.The United States military in late December said it had killed or captured about 25 ISIL fighters in a wave of attacks over nine days in Syria.The Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the US military’s Middle East operations, issued a statement on Tuesday marking the conclusion of the operations last month.The campaign followed the killing of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter by an ISIL attacker in Syria on December 13, and widespread US strikes against the group six days later.In the meantime, Turkiye’s government said on Wednesday it had detained more than 100 ISIL suspects in nationwide raids, as the group shows signs of intensified regional activity after a period of relative dormancy.Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the arrests, saying Turkish authorities rounded up 125 suspects across 25 provinces, including Ankara.The operation was the third of its kind in less than a week during the holiday season, and follows a deadly shootout on Tuesday between Turkish police and suspected ISIL members in the northwestern city of Yalova.