British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their skill and their courage," Healey said. "They were among a great many British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military conducted what it called a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
