Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of access tunnels down to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their skill and their bravery," Healey said. "Including them were numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
