Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces who took part in this mission for their skill and their courage," he said. "They were among a great many British troops on duty over the holidays. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, following an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Daesh still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.
