Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels down to the facility... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," Healey added. "They were part of a great many British troops stationed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, shows how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, following an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
