British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a series of access tunnels down to the depot... 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 every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the minister stated.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," Healey added. "They were among numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out militants who endanger our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in both countries.
