Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of access tunnels down to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of the group following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among a great many British personnel deployed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
