Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the minister stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their skill and their courage," he commented. "They were among numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove militants who threaten our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations says IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
