Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of entry passages leading to the site... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the minister remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among a great many British troops on duty over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
