British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the IS group, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military carried out what it described as a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in both countries.
