RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the IS group, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of British forces participating in this strike for their skill and their courage," he said. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the US military executed what it described as a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an ambush killed two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.
