Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - established extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among a great many British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces conducted what it called a "massive strike" on Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Daesh still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
