Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several approach shafts providing entry to the facility... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces involved in this strike for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many British troops stationed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
