Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of access tunnels down to the site... early reports indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank every member of British forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their valour," he said. "They were among a great many British personnel stationed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in both countries.
