British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of entry passages down to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were among thousands of British troops stationed over the holidays. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an assault claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
