British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of entry passages leading to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of British forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove militants who threaten our security, highlights how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
