Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
During December, the American forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an attack killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
