Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... initial indications suggest the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and determination to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how British military are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military conducted what it called a "massive strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Islamic State still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
