Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the British defence ministry.
The site, identified by intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several access tunnels providing entry to the depot... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," he added. "They were part of a great many British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
During December, the US military executed what it called a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates Islamic State still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in both countries.
