RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several 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 all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," Healey commented. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate militants who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military executed what it termed a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an ambush killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
