Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of approach shafts down to the facility... initial indications indicate the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
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 action demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group following its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting IS targets in the country, subsequent to an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Daesh still has between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Syria and Iraq.
