Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several approach shafts leading to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of a great many British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
