British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of approach shafts leading to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians 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 refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among thousands of British personnel stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our way of life, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "major assault" on IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
