British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several approach shafts down to the depot... initial indications are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their valour," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
