Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of approach shafts leading to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as ISIS - imposed militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank all the members of British forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, shows how British military are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Iraq and Syria.
