Coordinated British-French Airstrike Hits Daesh Weapons Depot in the Syrian region

British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.

The location, located using intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.

"Our fighter planes utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of entry passages leading to the site... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," the MoD said.

There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.

The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.

The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.

"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.

UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.

"I want to thank every member of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were thousands of UK service members on duty over the holidays. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."

Last December, the US military executed what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in the country, after an attack killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.

The U.N. says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.