Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels down to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their courage," Healey added. "They were part of a great many British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and influential overseas."
During December, the US military executed what it called a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, following an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
