Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of access tunnels leading to the facility... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as ISIS - established extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their courage," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military executed what it called a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
