Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - also known as Daesh - established extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of the terrorist group and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the minister remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," Healey said. "Including them were a great many British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who threaten our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
