British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of entry passages down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous British personnel deployed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
