British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The site, located using surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several approach shafts down to the depot... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank every member of British forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among a great many British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
