RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of approach shafts providing entry to the depot... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their courage," Healey added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, after an attack killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
