Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the depot... early reports indicate the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of British forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he said. "Including them were numerous British personnel stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, shows how British military are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN says Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
