Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by 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 north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of approach shafts down to the site... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military carried out what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
