Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this strike for their skill and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among numerous British troops on duty over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate militants who endanger our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the US military carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
