Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey commented. "They were among a great many British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, after an attack killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
