British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, identified by surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced militant control over parts of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores British leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the festive period. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
