British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in mountains just above Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of approach shafts providing entry to the site... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over significant areas in Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to eradicate any revival of IS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
RAF aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of IS following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces participating in this operation for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were thousands of British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out terrorist threats who pose a risk to our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, protecting the UK within its borders and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, following an ambush killed two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN says Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
