British military police have arrested five members of the Special Air Service (SAS) on suspicion of allegedly committing war crimes while on operations in Syria years ago.
Several UK Special Forces have been sent to Syria in the past decades to conduct operations against the Islamic State (IS).
Five SAS Soldiers Arrested
The Ministry of Defense said it would not comment directly on the inquiry, but defense sources suggested that reports of the arrests, which have been circulating in military circles for some time, were true.
An MoD spokesperson said, "We hold our personnel to the highest standards, and any allegations of wrongdoing are taken seriously. Where appropriate, any criminal allegations are referred to the service police for investigation."
The five SAS members are facing charges related to the alleged murder of a suspected jihadist in Syria who was killed during operations two years ago. The Service Prosecuting Authority, the military equivalent of the CPS, has received case files from service police suggesting the prosecution of murder charges.
According to The Guardian, the five are accused of using excessive force during the incident. However, the soldiers involved are understood to deny this, claiming that the dead man posed a legitimate threat that justified his killing.
The SAS deployed in Syria have been supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish allies of the west situated in the northeast of the country.
During a joint operation against IS in Manbij, northern Syria, in 2018, US commando Jonathan Dunbar and SAS soldier Matt Tonroe were both killed by friendly fire when an explosive carried by a colleague detonated.
British soldiers being found guilty of war crimes is extremely unusual, but it is not certain that any arrests will lead to prosecution. The arrests come at a time when SAS's operations in Afghanistan were under scrutiny, looking into claims that the force killed 80 Afghans.
The identity of the accused soldiers is not publicly known, and their anonymity will be protected if there are any court-martial procedures. No SAS members have been named in the Afghanistan public inquiry.
Furthermore, the SAS is a Hereford-based unit that operates secretly and is prepared to carry out risky missions behind the lines and in areas where the UK does not publicly recognize a military presence.
Since the 1980s, government ministers and officials have refrained from commenting on its operations. The director of special forces, its highest-ranking official, is only accountable to the defense secretary and the prime minister.
According to Amnesty International, claims of war crimes should be fully investigated. Kristyan Benedict, a crisis response manager with the human rights group, said that as a matter of principle, it is vital that all members of the UK's armed forces are fully answerable before the law.
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Former SAS Soldier Confessed to Murder
According to Daily Mail Online, an interview that the Mail's Defense and Diplomacy Editor acquired with a former SAS soldier equated to a confession of "murder."
Mark Nicol, who spoke to the ex-soldier in 2017, described his interrogation with him as "the most intense" of his 25-year career, as he gave evidence to the Afghan inquiry.
A terrifying transcript of the 40-minute conversation, in which the ex-soldier admitted to "hunting down" and killing an unarmed Afghan, was presented before the hearing. He openly admitted to Nicol that his team would frequently kill suspected Taliban and equip unarmed individuals with weapons to make them appear as if they posed an immediate threat.
The SAS soldier said in an extract read to the hearing that he did not think they did something wrong and that it was necessary for the individuals they were dealing with.
