Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels leading to the site... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their bravery," he added. "They were part of numerous British personnel stationed over the festive period. This mission, to remove militants who endanger our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
