British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to hit a several entry passages down to the site... initial indications indicate the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved returned safely, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over parts of Iraq and Syria until 2019.
"This operation shows our UK leadership, and determination to work closely with our partners, to eliminate any revival of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the area," UK Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group following its routing at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD reported.
"I must thank all the members of British forces who took part in this mission for their professionalism and their courage," he commented. "They were among a great many British personnel deployed over the holidays. This action, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how UK forces are always on standby, throughout the year, ensuring Britain's security within its borders and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces executed what it called a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, after an attack killed two US servicemembers and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. reports Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
