RAF Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of access tunnels leading to the depot... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," he commented. "They were part of thousands of British personnel stationed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces carried out what it termed a "major assault" on IS targets in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
