British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the IS group, according to the British defence ministry.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several approach shafts down to the site... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - imposed militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of British forces who took part in this mission for their expertise and their valour," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of British troops deployed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate militants who threaten our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military conducted what it called a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
