Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several entry passages leading to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces participating in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of thousands of UK service members stationed over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how British military are ready to step up, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an assault killed two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
