SAS commander investigated over Syria Islamic State operation

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 24 Oct, 02:57 · Archive

An SAS Commanding Officer and two colleagues were investigated by military police over a 2022 shooting of Islamic State members in Syria.

An SAS Commanding Officer and two other senior officers were investigated by military police following a 2022 operation in Syria in which members of the regiment killed Islamic State operatives. The five-man SAS team and the three officers were placed under criminal investigation, with the soldiers accused of murder and the officers accused of covering up or perverting the course of justice.

GB News reports that the SAS forces killed two teenagers linked to Islamic State during a nighttime raid to capture a senior militant. Investigators claimed the five men used 'disproportionate force' because the teenagers were 'unarmed at the time of their deaths'. However, the Daily Mail reports that the Commanding Officer and his two colleagues had signed off the SAS team's account of the shooting as accurate and proportionate, and that the CO had acted appropriately.

The investigation was triggered when General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the Director Special Forces and a former commander of the rival Special Boat Service, overruled the SAS Commanding Officer's initial assessment. This decision caused uproar within the SAS. In May, the Service Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service, decided not to seek charges against any of the men. All eight individuals involved have since left the military.

How it is being reported

• SAS commander placed under criminal investigation over Islamic State manhuntAn SAS commander has been placed under criminal investigation over an Islamic State manhunt. Five soldiers in the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, or 22 SAS, were accused of murder during a mission in Syria and referred to military prosecutors. The officer, whose name was classified under special forces policy, was investigated alongside two other officers over allegations about how they handled evidence. SAS forces killed two teenagers linked to the Islamic State in a nighttime raid to capture a senior militant. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Military police decided to investigate the…GB News · 24 Oct, 02:11
• SAS Commanding Officer hounded by military police following legitimate killing of an ISIS terroristThe Commanding Officer of the Special Air Service was targeted by military police following the legitimate killing of an ISIS terrorist, the Mail can reveal.Daily Mail · 23 Oct, 18:53

In this story: Special Air Service · Islamic State · Syria · General Sir Gwyn Jenkins · Royal Military Police · Special Boat Service · Service Prosecuting Authority

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