Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of approach shafts down to the depot... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their courage," he added. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, after an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
