Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, located using intelligence, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was located in hills just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several access tunnels down to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the target was engaged successfully," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action underscores our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank every member of the UK armed forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their courage," Healey said. "They were part of thousands of British personnel stationed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate militants who pose a risk to our security, shows how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces conducted what it termed a "major assault" on Daesh sites in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in Syria and Iraq.
