Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, located using intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of approach shafts leading to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were numerous British troops stationed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an attack killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports IS still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
