Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of access tunnels leading to the site... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of thousands of British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove militants who endanger our security, shows how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
