Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of approach shafts down to the site... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as ISIS - imposed jihadist rule over parts of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group following its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" on Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an assault killed two American soldiers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
