RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of entry passages down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with allied nations, to eliminate any re-emergence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this mission for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the American forces executed what it termed a "major assault" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
