British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of approach shafts down to the site... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of numerous UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
