RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several access tunnels down to the depot... early reports suggest the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as ISIS - enforced militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces who took part in this mission for their expertise and their courage," Healey commented. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over the festive period. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
