British Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The facility, identified by intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of access tunnels leading to the facility... early reports are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS after its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," he added. "They were part of thousands of British troops on duty over the holidays. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The UN estimates Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
