RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a several access tunnels down to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
