RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels leading to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this mission for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of numerous British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who endanger our security, highlights how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
