Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, 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 hit a several approach shafts down to the site... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," Healey commented. "Including them were a great many British troops stationed over the festive period. This mission, to take out militants who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
