Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were assisted by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," he commented. "They were among numerous British troops stationed over the festive period. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it termed a "major assault" on IS targets in the country, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
