British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, identified by intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of approach shafts down to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among a great many British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove militants who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.
