British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - imposed militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were numerous UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove militants who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure within its borders and strong abroad."
During December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN says IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
