British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," Healey added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
