RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with France's air force in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, located using surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels down to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates British leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," he commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, highlights how UK forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
During December, the American forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
