Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in hills just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were numerous UK service members on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
