Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces involved in this strike for their skill and their valour," Healey added. "They were part of numerous British personnel on duty over the holidays. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how British military are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
