Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the IS group, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "They were among thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This mission, to eliminate militants who threaten our safety, highlights how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
