Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - also known as ISIS - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces who took part in this mission for their skill and their courage," Healey commented. "They were part of a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate militants who threaten our security, highlights how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in both countries.
