British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with France's air force in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of approach shafts providing entry to the depot... early reports are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as ISIS - imposed militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their courage," Healey added. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This action, to take out militants who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
