British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French aircraft in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria employed by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The facility, located using reconnaissance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a series of entry passages down to the site... early reports are that the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any harm to civilians in the operation conducted Saturday night and all the aircraft made a safe return, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - referred to as ISIS - imposed militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with allied nations, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," UK Defence Secretary John Healey stated.
RAF aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members stationed over the festive period. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security at home and influential overseas."
During December, the US military carried out what it termed a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, following an ambush claimed the lives of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The UN estimates Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand fighters in both countries.
