Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of approach shafts leading to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
