British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
RAF aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their courage," he added. "They were part of thousands of British personnel deployed over the festive period. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
