Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of access tunnels leading to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of British forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among a great many UK service members on duty over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in Syria, after an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
