Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike against an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using intelligence, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a several approach shafts leading to the facility... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any harm to civilians in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - referred to as Daesh - imposed extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This strike shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to eliminate any resurgence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary stated.
British military aircraft have performed overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," Healey said. "They were part of numerous UK service members on duty over the holidays. This mission, to take out militants who endanger our way of life, shows how British military are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the United States armed forces executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Islamic State objectives in the country, following an attack killed two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. says Daesh still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
