RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels leading to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous UK service members on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces conducted what it called a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
