British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of entry passages leading to the depot... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their courage," he commented. "They were among numerous UK service members deployed over the holidays. This action, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an attack killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
