RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - established extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their courage," he commented. "They were part of numerous UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an attack killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
