Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of approach shafts leading to the depot... early reports are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation shows British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their courage," Healey said. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over the festive period. This action, to eliminate militants who threaten our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military conducted what it called a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, following an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
