Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have joined forces with French aircraft in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The site, identified by surveillance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in mountains just north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - imposed jihadist rule over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
British military aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "deter any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its routing at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of British forces involved in this mission for their expertise and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among numerous British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This action, to take out dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our security, highlights how British military are prepared to act, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" targeting Daesh sites in the country, subsequent to an assault resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates IS still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Syria and Iraq.
