British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a several entry passages providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the American forces executed what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
