RAF Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of entry passages providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary commented. "They were part of a great many British personnel stationed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, highlights how British military are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Daesh still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
