Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their courage," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
In December, the US military executed what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
