Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The facility, pinpointed through intelligence, was thought to be storing arms and explosives, the release indicated, and was located in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in central Syria.
"The RAF jets employed Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels leading to the site... preliminary assessments suggest the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved returned to base without incident, the defence officials confirmed.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
The Islamic State group - also known as Daesh - imposed militant control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This operation underscores British leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with allied nations, to stamp out any resurgence of IS and their violent and radical beliefs in the Middle East," the British Defence Secretary the minister remarked.
UK warplanes have conducted patrols over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of the group after its defeat at the Baghuz confrontation in 2019, the ministry said.
"I must thank all the members of British forces participating in this mission for their skill and their valour," Healey commented. "They were part of numerous British troops on duty over Christmas and New Year. This action, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, demonstrates how British military are ready to step up, all year round, ensuring Britain's security at home and powerful internationally."
In December, the American forces carried out what it called a "large-scale strike" on Daesh sites in the country, after an assault claimed the lives of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. reports Daesh still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in Syria and Iraq.
