RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a several entry passages providing entry to the depot... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their valour," he commented. "They were among a great many British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, shows how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the US military executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
