Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels down to the site... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among thousands of British troops on duty over the holidays. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
