Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside France's air force in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a several entry passages leading to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - imposed militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel deployed over the festive period. This action, to remove terrorist threats who endanger our safety, highlights how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military executed what it described as a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an assault claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
