Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the depot... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of British forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
