Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have joined forces with French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the Daesh militant organization, as stated by the British defence ministry.
The location, identified by reconnaissance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the statement said, and was positioned in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"The RAF jets employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a several entry passages providing entry to the site... early reports suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the attack late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - also known as Daesh - established jihadist rule over large swathes of Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation demonstrates British leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the minister remarked.
British military aircraft have performed patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group following its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of British forces involved in this mission for their professionalism and their bravery," Healey said. "Including them were thousands of UK service members deployed over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who endanger our security, demonstrates how UK forces are always on standby, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "major assault" against IS targets in the country, following an ambush killed two US servicemembers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Daesh still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 combatants in Iraq and Syria.
