Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of access tunnels leading to the facility... initial indications are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of a great many British personnel stationed over the holidays. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
