British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this mission for their expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were part of thousands of British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces conducted what it called a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
