British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of entry passages leading to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were a great many British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, following an attack killed two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
