British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several entry passages leading to the site... early reports indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates the UK's leading role, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces involved in this mission for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
