Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - imposed militant control over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," Healey commented. "They were among a great many UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our security, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the American forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an attack killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
