British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - established jihadist rule over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey added. "They were among thousands of British troops stationed over the holidays. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
