British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among numerous UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to take out militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
