Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," he added. "They were among a great many British personnel stationed over the festive period. This action, to remove militants who threaten our security, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the US military carried out what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
