Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels down to the depot... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," he commented. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military conducted what it called a "major assault" on IS targets in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in both countries.
