Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several approach shafts down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members on duty over the festive period. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
