RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of approach shafts down to the facility... initial indications suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this strike for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among numerous British troops deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove militants who endanger our safety, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
