Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in mountains just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several approach shafts providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their bravery," Healey said. "They were part of thousands of British personnel on duty over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
