Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation against an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The location, located using reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a series of entry passages leading to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon FGR4s were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of the group after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of British forces participating in this operation for their expertise and their valour," Healey said. "They were among numerous British personnel on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
Last December, the US military executed what it described as a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
