RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The site, located using intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several entry passages down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this mission for their skill and their bravery," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how British military are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in the country, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
