Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in mountains just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several access tunnels down to the facility... early reports suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation 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 harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to every member of British forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," Healey added. "They were among a great many British troops deployed over the festive period. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our safety, highlights how UK forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it called a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, following an ambush killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN reports Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
