British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of access tunnels leading to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces participating in this strike for their skill and their courage," Healey said. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "massive strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
