Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by reconnaissance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications indicate the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
