British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... initial indications indicate the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their skill and their bravery," Healey added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our security, highlights how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, after an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
