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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 4 Jan 20264 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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The United Kingdom\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoyal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France,\u201d the ministry said of the Saturday night attack in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.<\/p>\n
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The statement said the area, north of the ancient site of Palmyra, was \u201cdevoid of any civilian habitation\u201d.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the US military\u2019s Middle East operations, issued a statement on Tuesday marking the conclusion of the operations last month.<\/p>\n
The campaign followed the killing of two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter by an ISIL attacker in Syria on December 13<\/a>, and widespread US strikes<\/a> against the group six days later.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Turkiye\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the arrests, saying Turkish authorities rounded up 125 suspects across 25 provinces, including Ankara.<\/p>\n The operation was the third of its kind in less than a week during the holiday season,<\/a> and follows a deadly shootout on Tuesday between Turkish police and suspected ISIL members in the northwestern city of Yalova.<\/p>\n That clash killed three Turkish police<\/a> and six suspected ISIL members, all Turkish nationals. A day later, Turkish security forces arrested 357 suspected ISIL members in a coordinated crackdown.<\/p>\n In 2017, when the group still held large swaths of neighbouring Syria and Iraq before being vanquished on the battlefield, ISIL attacked an Istanbul nightclub<\/a> during New Year\u2019s celebrations, killing 39 people. Istanbul prosecutor\u2019s office said Turkish police had received intelligence that operatives were \u201cplanning attacks in Turkiye against non-Muslims in particular\u201d this holiday season.<\/p>\n