British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of the group following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of British forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," Healey added. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
