France and Britain on Sunday said they had carried out joint strikes on the Islamic State group in Syria to prevent the Islamist extremists resurging. France said it was part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a US-led international offensive against IS in Iraq, Syria and also Libya. The British Ministry of Defence said it cooperated with France on Saturday night to strike an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the Islamic State group to store weapons. "Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France," the ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS. IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence, particularly in the country's vast desert.

Source: The Local January 04, 2026 18:32 UTC