Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were a great many British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove militants who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
