British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to strike a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... early reports are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack late on Saturday and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their valour," he commented. "They were part of numerous UK service members stationed over the holidays. This mission, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and influential overseas."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it called a "massive strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations says IS still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in both countries.
