Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of approach shafts leading to the depot... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of British forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were numerous British troops stationed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, shows how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, after an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
