Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a several approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over parts of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our security, shows how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the American forces executed what it termed a "major assault" on IS targets in the country, after an assault killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
