British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a several approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister stated.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of British forces participating in this strike for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among thousands of British troops on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our security, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces conducted what it called a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Daesh still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
