Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of approach shafts down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as ISIS - enforced militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were numerous British personnel stationed over the festive period. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, shows how British military are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in both countries.
