British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
