Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just above Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This action underscores British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," Healey said. "They were part of numerous British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN says IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
