Five SAS soldiers arrested in UK on suspicion of war crimes in Syria

Five members of the SAS have been arrested by British military police on suspicion of committing war crimes while on duty in Syria.

The Defense Department said it would not comment directly on the investigation, but Defense Department sources said reports of the arrest that had been circulating in military circles for some time were accurate.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said: “We hold our staff to the highest standards and any allegation of misconduct will be taken seriously. Where appropriate, any criminal allegations will be referred to the police for investigation.”

Details of the arrests remain limited, but the SAS has been actively deployed in Syria for the past decade, participating in the fight against Islamic State and supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces.

It is uncertain whether any of the arrests will lead to prosecution, and it is extremely rare for British soldiers to be convicted of war crimes. But the arrests come as the SAS’s activities in Afghanistan come under separate scrutiny from a public inquiry into claims that 80 Afghans were summarily killed by the force.

The elite unit, based in Hereford, usually operates in absolute secrecy and is prepared to carry out dangerous missions behind the lines and in areas where Britain does not officially recognize a military presence.

Government ministers and officials refuse to comment on their activities, even publicly, a practice that began in the 1980s. Its most senior official is the Director of Special Forces, who reports only to the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister.