British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with France's air force in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of approach shafts providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he added. "They were part of numerous UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN estimates Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
