Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was located in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," UK Defence Secretary the minister stated.
UK warplanes have performed surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," he said. "They were among numerous British personnel stationed over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, highlights how our armed forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in the country, after an attack killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
