RAF Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a coordinated attack targeting an underground arms cache in Syria operated by the IS group, as stated by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, pinpointed through surveillance, was believed to be housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was situated in mountainous terrain just north of the historic site of Palmyra in the heart of Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the facility... early reports indicate the objective was successfully hit," the ministry announced.
There was no sign of any civilian impact in the attack on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.
Daesh - also known as the so-called Islamic State - established militant control over parts of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This operation underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to eliminate any revival of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the region," Britain's Defence Chief John Healey remarked.
UK warplanes have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of Islamic State after its military defeat at the climactic battle in Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank the personnel of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their professionalism and their courage," he said. "Including them were a great many UK service members deployed over Christmas and New Year. This mission, to eliminate terrorist threats who endanger our security, shows how our armed forces are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK domestically and powerful internationally."
During December, the American forces carried out what it described as a "major assault" on Islamic State objectives in the country, after an attack resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates IS still maintains roughly 5-7 thousand militants in Iraq and Syria.
