RAF Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of entry passages leading to the site... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over the holidays. This mission, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how British military are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
