Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels leading to the site... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as Daesh - imposed militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among numerous British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how British military are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces executed what it termed a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in both countries.
