RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was located in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of access tunnels leading to the facility... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their valour," he commented. "They were part of numerous British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, shows how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an assault claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
