Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several approach shafts leading to the site... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of the group following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among thousands of British personnel on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how British military are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military executed what it called a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
