Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, located using intelligence, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of entry passages providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their skill and their bravery," he added. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over the holidays. This action, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our security, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
