Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," Healey added. "They were part of a great many British personnel stationed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
