British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel on duty over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
