British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels down to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their bravery," he added. "They were among a great many UK service members on duty over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the US military conducted what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
