British warplanes have launched their first air strikes against Isis militants in Syria hours after Parliament authorised an extension of bombing to the country.

Four RAF Tornado jets took off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, equipped with a combination of 500lb Paveway bombs and Raptor survellience pods, according to a BBC correspondent on the ground.

A pair of jets returned to the base at 3am without their weapons, it was reported.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the planes were part of the "first offensive operation in Syria and conducted strikes".

Six targets are said to have been related to an oil field under Isis control in the east of the country.

The Royal Air Force joins strikes by US, French, and allied air forces, which are already being conducted in the country.

British planes have also already been conducting strikes against the same militants in neighbouring Iraq, where they also operate. The border between the two countries is currently uncontrolled.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond had said Britain was “already flying reconnaissance missions over Syria, with British planes carrying weapons over Syria into Iraq”.

“It would be a relatively simple exercise to extend the permissions to allow them to release those weapons over Syria, where they identify legitimate targets," he added.

In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Show all 20 1 /20 In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Syrian citizens check a damaged house that targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian boy (L) looking at a destroyed car that activists say was targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Parts of a missile that activists say was fired by coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Tthe guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launching Tomahawk cruise missiles against Isis targets In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launches a Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Red Sea, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets in Syria In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launching a Tomahawk cruise missile against Isis targets in Syria, as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria US navy sailors standing watch on the bridge while Tomahawk cruise missiles are launched against Isis targets in Syria, aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets AFP/Robert Burck In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The US-led airstrikes in Syria against Isis targets in and around the city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A fighter from the Isis group holds a piece of what the IS is saying is a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis organisation pray at the spot where the jihadist group said a US drone crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group gesture as they load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa. A US-led coalition on carried out its first air strikes and missile attacks against jihadist positions in Syria, with Damascus saying it had been informed by Washington before the operation began In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian man rides his bike past a communications tower that was destroyed after a US drone crashed into it, according to fighters with the Isis group, in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria People inspect a shop damaged after what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone crashed into a communication station nearby in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man holds the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Resident gather in the back of a van the remains of what Isis militants say was a drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isismilitants say was a U.S. drone which crashed into a communication tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa

MPs voted 397 to 223 to extend action in the House of Commons last night after a ten-hour debate on the subject.

The Government says the UK should not "outsource" its security to other nations.

A small number of Conservative MPs and most Labour MPs, including their party leader Jeremy Corbyn, say the strikes are not likely to make the UK safer and risk unnecessary civilian casualties.

David Cameron told MPs during the debate that the strikes would hit Isis in their "heartland".

"This is not about whether we want to fight terrorism, it's about how best we do that," he said.

"The question is this: do we work with our allies to degrade and destroy this threat and do we go after these terrorists in their heartlands, from where they are plotting to kill British people. Or do we sit back and wait for them to attack us?"

Jeremy Corbyn called for respect for MPs from his party who supported the bombing, after reports that activists, who are overhwelmingly opposed to the air strikes, were moving against them.

"For all members to take a decision that will put British servicemen and women in harm's way and almost inevitably lead to the deaths of innocents is a heavy responsibility," he said.