British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels leading to the site... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among numerous UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces carried out what it called a "major assault" on Daesh sites in the country, after an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Daesh still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
