RAF Typhoon jets have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to hit a several approach shafts providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces involved in this strike for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary added. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how British military are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in the country, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
