British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syrian territory operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The site, pinpointed through reconnaissance, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in hills just north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several entry passages providing entry to the facility... initial indications are that the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and all the aircraft returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
The Islamic State group - alternatively referred to as Daesh - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This operation underscores the UK's leading role, and resolve to operate in unison with allied nations, to eliminate any resurgence of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of our armed forces participating in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," the Defence Secretary said. "They were among a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and strong abroad."
In December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" on IS targets in the country, following an attack claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in both countries.
