Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of access tunnels down to the facility... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their valour," he added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members stationed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
