Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountains just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of approach shafts leading to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as ISIS - established extremist governance over parts of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the minister stated.
UK warplanes have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," he added. "They were part of numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who endanger our way of life, shows how British military are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military executed what it called a "massive strike" against IS targets in the country, following an assault claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates Islamic State still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
