Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, located using surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," he added. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
Last December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
