British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of entry passages down to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," he commented. "They were part of thousands of UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces executed what it termed a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
