Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a coordinated attack on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by surveillance, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just above the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a number of entry passages leading to the facility... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation demonstrates the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary remarked.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syria to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this operation for their skill and their courage," Healey added. "They were part of thousands of UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our security, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, after an attack claimed the lives of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
