Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory operated by the IS group, per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several entry passages providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - also known as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among numerous British personnel on duty over the holidays. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, highlights how British military are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military conducted what it described as a "major assault" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
