Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several entry passages down to the depot... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of the group following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
