Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister stated.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces involved in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
