Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have conducted a mission with French warplanes in a joint strike on an hidden munitions depot in Syrian territory employed by the IS group, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, located using intelligence, was thought to be containing munitions and bombs, the announcement noted, and was situated in mountainous terrain just above the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a number of access tunnels providing entry to the site... initial indications indicate the objective was successfully hit," the MoD said.
There was no evidence of any civilian casualties in the strike late on Saturday and every plane involved made a safe return, the ministry further stated.
The British jets were assisted by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
Daesh - alternatively referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat in 2019.
"This action shows our UK leadership, and commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners, to stamp out any re-emergence of Daesh and their harmful and extremist ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary John Healey remarked.
British military aircraft have carried out overwatch operations over Syrian airspace to "forestall any attempted comeback" of IS subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the ministry said.
"I want to thank all the members of our armed forces who took part in this strike for their professionalism and their valour," the Defence Secretary added. "Including them were a great many British troops on duty over the festive period. This action, to take out terrorist threats who threaten our security, highlights how our armed forces are prepared to act, throughout the year, keeping Britain secure within its borders and powerful internationally."
In December, the US military carried out what it called a "massive strike" against Islamic State objectives in Syria, subsequent to an ambush resulted in the deaths of two US troops and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The UN says Daesh still has roughly 5-7 thousand combatants in both countries.
