RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, located using intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of entry passages leading to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as ISIS - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces involved in this operation for their skill and their courage," he added. "They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over the festive period. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
