British Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syria used by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The site, located using surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in mountainous terrain just to the north of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our aircraft employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility... preliminary assessments are that the target was engaged successfully," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation conducted Saturday night and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - referred to as Daesh - established jihadist rule over parts of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This action shows British leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any revival of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
RAF aircraft have conducted overwatch operations over Syria to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of IS subsequent to its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to the personnel of the UK armed forces participating in this mission for their skill and their courage," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to remove terrorist threats who threaten our security, demonstrates how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and influential overseas."
Last December, the US military executed what it termed a "massive strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, after an ambush killed two US troops and a local interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. estimates IS still maintains between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
