Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, identified by reconnaissance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the release indicated, and was situated in hills just to the north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of approach shafts leading to the depot... preliminary assessments suggest the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced jihadist rule over significant areas in Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to work closely with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this strike for their skill and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to remove militants who endanger our security, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in Syria, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a local interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations estimates IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
