Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of approach shafts leading to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," he commented. "They were part of numerous British personnel on duty over the festive period. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, highlights how British military are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
