RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The site, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of entry passages down to the facility... initial indications are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel on duty over the holidays. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, highlights how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
