British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a several access tunnels providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows British leadership, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he added. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the festive period. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
