RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility... initial indications suggest the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," he commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, highlights how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military carried out what it termed a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in the country, following an attack killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
