British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of access tunnels leading to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out militants who endanger our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
