Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, located using intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of approach shafts down to the site... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their bravery," Healey added. "They were among numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove militants who endanger our safety, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates IS still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.
