Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of entry passages leading to the site... early reports are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel on duty over the festive period. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military executed what it termed a "massive strike" against IS targets in Syria, following an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
