British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with France's air force in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just above Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation demonstrates our UK leadership, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of British forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their valour," he said. "Including them were numerous British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to take out terrorist threats who endanger our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and strong abroad."
In December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in Syria, following an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN estimates IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
