RAF Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several entry passages providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of British forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," he said. "Including them were a great many UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, shows how British military are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."
During December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
