Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of entry passages providing entry to the facility... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as Daesh - established militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," Healey added. "Including them were a great many UK service members deployed over the festive period. This action, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
