British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountains just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a several access tunnels providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
