British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels leading to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were part of thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations says IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
