RAF Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of entry passages leading to the facility... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows British leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their valour," Healey commented. "They were part of a great many British troops on duty over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate militants who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military executed what it called a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
