RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of entry passages leading to the depot... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
