Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were thousands of British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove militants who threaten our security, shows how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in both countries.
