Five SAS soldiers arrested in Syria war crimes investigation
Soldiers accused of killing suspected militant in 2022 incident
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Five members of the British special forces are being investigated for committing suspected war crimes during operations in Syria.
The serving Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers were arrested by the British military police and being investigated for allegedly shooting dead a suspected militant two years ago.
Top officials alleged that the troops used excessive force and should have arrested the suspected militant instead, Daily Mail reported, citing sources.
The Ministry of Defence has not commented directly on the ongoing probe, but told The Independent: “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 ministry said in a statement.
A primed suicide vest was reportedly found nearby but the suspect was not wearing it at the time of the shooting. The soldiers maintain that the man posed a threat and intended to carry out a suicide attack.
Following an initial investigation by the Defence Serious Crimes Unit, the case files recommending prosecution for murder charges against the soldiers have been sent to the Service Prosecuting Authority, according to the report.
The elite forces have been actively deployed in Syria and Iraq for over a decade to fight against the Islamic State (Isis) terrorist group.
In 2018, Sergeant Matt Tonroe was killed while embedded with US forces in Syria. It was the first death of a British service personnel since an international coalition launched operations against Isis in 2014.
The Ministry of Defence said it was initially believed that Sgt Tonroe was killed by enemy action, however subsequent investigation concluded that he was killed by the accidental detonation of explosives carried by coalition forces.
The SAS was also being investigated for allegedly killing dozens of people during counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province in the last decade.
According to BBC Panorama, SAS soldiers allegedly killed detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances.
Last month, veterans minister Johnny Mercer told the Afghan inquiry that he did not want to believe reports that the elite British soldiers had killed unarmed civilians, but he was “unable” to find “something to disprove these allegations”.
Mr Mercer told the independent investigation he was aware of allegations against a special forces unit, known to the inquiry as UKSF1, from as far back as 2009.
When he tried to investigate the claims during his time as a junior minister, he found that there was a “lack of professional curiosity to get to the bottom of it”.
Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s crisis response manager, said a full investigation should be immediately undertaken if UK’s forces allegedly committed war crime in Syria.
“In both Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s been a glaring shortfall in how the UK authorities held members of the military to account over horrific alleged misconduct, and this must not be repeated with Syria,” he added.