Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several approach shafts down to the facility... early reports indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet returned safely, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to operate in unison with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he added. "They were part of thousands of British personnel stationed over the festive period. This action, to take out militants who endanger our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the US military conducted what it called a "massive strike" targeting IS targets in Syria, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports IS still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in both countries.
