RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several entry passages providing entry to the site... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
