British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the American forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
