RAF Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just north of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several entry passages providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State after its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of our armed forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their valour," he commented. "They were among numerous British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to remove militants who endanger our security, highlights how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the US military conducted what it called a "massive strike" on IS targets in the country, after an assault killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN says IS still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
