British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a several approach shafts providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous British personnel deployed over the holidays. This operation, to remove militants who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in both countries.
