Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to every member of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" against IS targets in Syria, after an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
