RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of British forces participating in this strike for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove militants who pose a risk to our security, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the US military carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
