Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have joined forces with French aircraft in a joint strike on an subterranean weapons facility in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), as stated by the UK's MoD.
The location, identified by surveillance, was believed to be storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to target a several access tunnels providing entry to the site... preliminary assessments indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the operation on Saturday evening and each participating jet made a safe return, the MoD added.
The Typhoon FGR4s were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - established extremist governance over significant areas in Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This strike demonstrates British leadership, and resolve to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eradicate any re-emergence of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey said.
UK warplanes have carried out patrols over Syria to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of Islamic State following its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank the personnel of British forces who took part in this operation for their expertise and their courage," he added. "They were among a great many UK service members deployed over the festive period. This action, to take out militants who endanger our safety, shows how British military are prepared to act, all year round, keeping Britain secure domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the US military carried out what it termed a "massive strike" on IS targets in Syria, subsequent to an ambush claimed the lives of two US troops and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The United Nations says Daesh still maintains an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in Syria and Iraq.
