British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a several approach shafts leading to the facility... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their courage," Healey said. "They were part of numerous British troops on duty over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our security, shows how British military are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against IS targets in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
