Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, according to the British defence ministry.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - referred to as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS 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 mission for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces carried out what it called a "major assault" on IS targets in the country, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
