British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of approach shafts leading to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of British forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," he said. "Including them were thousands of British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
