Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack targeting an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a series of access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of the group following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," Healey commented. "Including them were numerous British personnel on duty over the festive period. This operation, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the US military conducted what it called a "massive strike" against IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
