RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels leading to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous UK service members stationed over the festive period. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
