Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of access tunnels leading to the depot... early reports indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out militants who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
