British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The site, located using surveillance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of British forces participating in this operation for their skill and their courage," Healey added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members on duty over the holidays. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in Syria, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
