British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with France's air force in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their skill and their courage," he said. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an assault claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in both countries.
