Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels leading to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among thousands of UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
