Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a number of access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - referred to as ISIS - enforced militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister said.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces participating in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," Healey said. "They were among thousands of British troops stationed over the holidays. This action, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military executed what it termed a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
