Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike targeting an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was believed to be containing munitions and bombs, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just above Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of entry passages providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned safely, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - also known as ISIS - enforced jihadist rule over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action demonstrates the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank every member of our armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary commented. "Including them were a great many British personnel on duty over the festive period. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how our armed forces are always on standby, all year round, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and strong abroad."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, following an attack claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations says Islamic State still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
