British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several approach shafts down to the facility... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," Healey added. "They were among a great many UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, highlights how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
