Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," he said. "They were part of thousands of UK service members on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove militants who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
