Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels down to the site... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any revival of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces who took part in this mission for their skill and their valour," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, after an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
