Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several approach shafts providing entry to the depot... initial indications indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," he commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel on duty over the holidays. This action, to eliminate militants who endanger our security, shows how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "major assault" on IS targets in Syria, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
