Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among a great many British personnel on duty over the holidays. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
