Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of entry passages leading to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their valour," he said. "They were part of numerous UK service members stationed over the festive period. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the US military conducted what it termed a "massive strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an assault killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
