British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by intelligence, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of entry passages down to the facility... early reports indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the festive period. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" against IS targets in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
