Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, 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 central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of approach shafts leading to the facility... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to every member of our armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an assault killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
