RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, shows how British military are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK at home and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in the country, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Islamic State still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
