Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several access tunnels leading to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among numerous British personnel on duty over the festive period. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates IS still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
