RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, shows how British military are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, following an ambush killed two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
