Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a series of approach shafts leading to the facility... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their courage," he added. "They were part of a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove militants who pose a risk to our security, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces executed what it called a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
