Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, pinpointed through intelligence, was assessed as containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of entry passages leading to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - established extremist governance over significant areas in Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank every member of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their skill and their courage," Healey said. "Including them were a great many British personnel deployed over the festive period. This operation, to remove militants who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad."
Last December, the United States armed forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" on IS targets in Syria, after an ambush killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
