British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of numerous UK service members on duty over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
