Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several entry passages leading to the facility... early reports suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," he said. "They were part of thousands of British troops deployed over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" against Daesh sites in Syria, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
