Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of thousands of British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in Syria, following an assault 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 militants in both countries.
