RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of entry passages down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation shows the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their valour," he said. "Including them were thousands of British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and strong abroad."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an assault killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
