British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in hills just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among numerous British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an assault killed two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
