British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation targeting an underground arms cache in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in mountains just to the north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"The RAF jets utilized Paveway IV guided bombs to target a series of entry passages down to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of the group following its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of British forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their courage," he said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to remove militants who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
