RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), according to the UK's MoD.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was positioned in hills just to the north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes employed precision-guided Paveway IV munitions to hit a series of approach shafts down to the site... initial indications are that the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and every plane involved made a safe return, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
IS - alternatively referred to as Daesh - enforced extremist governance over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action demonstrates our UK leadership, and determination to operate in unison with our partners, to eradicate any revival of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
RAF aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted resurgence" of Islamic State subsequent to its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces involved in this operation for their skill and their bravery," the Defence Secretary said. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the holidays. This operation, to eliminate terrorist threats who pose a risk to our safety, demonstrates how UK forces are prepared to act, continuously, ensuring Britain's security domestically and influential overseas."
In December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in the country, following an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in the Palmyra area.
The UN reports Daesh still boasts between 5,000 and 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
