British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of approach shafts providing entry to the facility... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - imposed jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action shows British leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," he said. "They were part of numerous UK service members on duty over the holidays. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an attack killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
