Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments are that the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and determination to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
UK warplanes have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," Healey said. "They were among numerous British troops stationed over the holidays. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, highlights how UK forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military executed what it termed a "major assault" targeting IS targets in Syria, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations reports IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
