Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the IS group, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of entry passages leading to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - established militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have performed patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces involved in this mission for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to take out militants who pose a risk to our security, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN says IS still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.
