Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several approach shafts providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were thousands of British troops deployed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our safety, highlights how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military carried out what it termed a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
