Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of approach shafts down to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of British forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their valour," he said. "Including them were numerous British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our security, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."
During December, the US military carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
