RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several entry passages down to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were part of a great many British personnel stationed over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in both countries.
