British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of approach shafts providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - established militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the American forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in the country, following an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
