British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of access tunnels down to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their courage," Healey added. "They were part of thousands of UK service members stationed over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
