British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a combined operation on an hidden munitions depot in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountains just above Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed jihadist rule over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their expertise and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "They were part of a great many British personnel stationed over the festive period. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military carried out what it described as a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
