British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, located using intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of British forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," Healey added. "Including them were a great many British personnel stationed over the festive period. This action, to take out militants who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, following an ambush killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN reports IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
