Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with France's air force in a combined operation targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several entry passages providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as ISIS - imposed militant control over parts of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any revival of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were numerous British personnel stationed over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our security, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" targeting IS targets in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
