Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of approach shafts leading to the facility... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of a great many British troops deployed over the festive period. This operation, to take out militants who pose a risk to our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and influential overseas."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
