Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of entry passages providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," Healey said. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, highlights how British military are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
