Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of approach shafts down to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their bravery," Healey added. "They were part of a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN reports Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
