Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside France's air force in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in hills just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the attack conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established jihadist rule over significant areas in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike shows British leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the area," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces who took part in this operation for their professionalism and their courage," he added. "They were part of a great many British troops stationed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to take out dangerous terrorists who endanger our safety, demonstrates how our armed forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, protecting the UK at home and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces conducted what it described as a "massive strike" against IS targets in the country, after an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Daesh still boasts roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
