British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of approach shafts down to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," he added. "They were part of a great many UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out militants who endanger our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, after an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in both countries.
