British Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French aircraft in a coordinated attack on an hidden munitions depot in Syria employed by the IS group, according to the British defence ministry.
The facility, pinpointed through surveillance, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was located in hills just to the north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes used Paveway IV guided bombs to strike a number of approach shafts leading to the depot... preliminary assessments indicate the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the operation late on Saturday and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - enforced militant control over significant areas in both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This action underscores British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any revival of IS and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the Defence Secretary said.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "prevent any attempted resurgence" of the group following its routing at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I extend gratitude to all the members of British forces involved in this mission for their skill and their valour," he commented. "Including them were a great many British troops deployed over the festive period. This action, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our safety, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, continuously, keeping Britain secure within its borders and strong abroad."
During December, the American forces conducted what it termed a "massive strike" against Daesh sites in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The U.N. says Islamic State still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters in both countries.
