RAF Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several access tunnels providing entry to the depot... early reports suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of British forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN estimates Islamic State still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
