RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, located using surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of entry passages down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this mission for their skill and their valour," Healey commented. "They were part of a great many British personnel on duty over the festive period. This action, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
