British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of access tunnels leading to the depot... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as ISIS - established militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces who took part in this mission for their skill and their valour," Healey commented. "They were among a great many British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are ready to step up, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the American forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
