British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, located using surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of approach shafts leading to the depot... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
