British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several entry passages down to the site... early reports suggest the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their bravery," Healey added. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "major assault" against IS targets in Syria, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
