Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," Healey commented. "Including them were thousands of British troops deployed over the holidays. This action, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our safety, highlights how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military carried out what it described as a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an assault killed two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
