British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the depot... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - established jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military executed what it called a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in the country, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
