RAF Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of entry passages down to the depot... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of numerous UK service members stationed over the holidays. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
