Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the IS group, per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels leading to the depot... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, highlights how British military are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military executed what it described as a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
