Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a series of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - imposed militant control over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
British military aircraft have conducted patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank every member of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the American forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an assault resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
