British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a several entry passages providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their valour," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many British troops stationed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
