Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of approach shafts down to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - imposed jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their courage," he added. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, highlights how British military are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
