British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was located in mountains just above Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a number of approach shafts providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of British forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he commented. "They were among thousands of British personnel stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
During December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
