Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the IS group, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of approach shafts down to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - also known as ISIS - enforced militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their skill and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military conducted what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in the country, following an assault claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in both countries.
