British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of entry passages down to the site... early reports indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as ISIS - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their courage," he added. "Including them were a great many British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the US military carried out what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
