British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of entry passages leading to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," he commented. "Including them were a great many UK service members on duty over the holidays. This mission, to remove militants who threaten our way of life, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the American forces executed what it described as a "major assault" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
