Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, located using intelligence, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several entry passages leading to the site... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian impact in the attack late on Saturday and all the aircraft returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," he added. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, shows how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in Syria, after an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
