British Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike against an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory used by the Daesh militant organization, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the statement said, and was situated in hills just north of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several entry passages providing entry to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," officials stated.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The Typhoon fighters were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as ISIS - enforced militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores the UK's leading role, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any resurgence of the terrorist group and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey said.
British military aircraft have conducted surveillance missions over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of British forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their courage," he said. "Including them were a great many UK service members stationed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our way of life, shows how UK forces are ready to step up, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure domestically and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces executed what it described as a "large-scale strike" targeting Daesh sites in the country, following an assault killed two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations reports Islamic State still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Iraq and Syria.
