Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of the group following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of British forces participating in this strike for their skill and their courage," he added. "Including them were numerous British personnel on duty over the holidays. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the US military conducted what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in the country, after an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
