British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a several access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the festive period. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an attack killed two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
