Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the IS group, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of approach shafts leading to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as ISIS - enforced extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," he added. "They were among thousands of British personnel stationed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
