Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of entry passages providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate militants who threaten our way of life, highlights how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an ambush killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
