Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several entry passages leading to the depot... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any revival of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "major assault" on Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN reports IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
