Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... initial indications indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their valour," he said. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over the festive period. This mission, to remove militants who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how British military are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the American forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
