British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "They were part of a great many UK service members on duty over the festive period. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our security, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces carried out what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
