RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several approach shafts leading to the depot... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores British leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS after its defeat 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 expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members on duty over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate militants who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
