RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of approach shafts down to the site... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with our allies, to eliminate any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces involved in this operation for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among numerous UK service members on duty over the festive period. This mission, to remove militants who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, after an assault claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
