Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated 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 series of approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," Healey added. "They were among a great many British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
