Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several entry passages down to the site... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their courage," he said. "They were part of a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
