RAF Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French aircraft in a joint strike on an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The location, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just to the north of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a several approach shafts down to the site... initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry announced.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were supported by a Voyager tanker plane.
The Islamic State group - also known as ISIS - established extremist governance over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to work closely with allied nations, to stamp out any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "deter any efforts to regroup" of IS subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces participating in this strike for their expertise and their valour," Healey added. "They were part of a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This mission, to eliminate militants who threaten our way of life, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "large-scale strike" against Daesh sites in the country, following an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates IS still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
