RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of approach shafts providing entry to the depot... initial indications are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of numerous British troops deployed over the holidays. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military carried out what it described as a "massive strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, after an assault claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
