Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the IS group, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several access tunnels down to the facility... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," Healey commented. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
