RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with France's air force in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of approach shafts providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as ISIS - imposed extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS after its military defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their courage," Healey added. "They were among a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the American forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in both countries.
