Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, identified by intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of approach shafts providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces involved in this mission for their skill and their courage," he added. "They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
