Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of thousands of British personnel stationed over the holidays. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in Syria, after an assault killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
