Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just above Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of entry passages down to the site... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the ministry further stated.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike shows the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary the minister said.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their skill and their bravery," Healey added. "They were among a great many British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove militants who endanger our way of life, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the US military executed what it called a "large-scale strike" targeting Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
