Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of entry passages providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - referred to as Daesh - 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 determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their courage," he added. "They were among a great many British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
