Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of approach shafts down to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," he commented. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the American forces executed what it described as a "major assault" against Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
