A British SAS Unit Fights Out of a Brutal Ambush
Since being founded to operate behind enemy lines in North Africa during World War II, the British Army's Secret Air Service (SAS) has built a reputation as one of the most elite special forces units in the world.
Military sources confirmed to dailystar.co.uk that on July 2, 2017, an SAS team survived an ambush launched by terrorists from the Islamic State close to the town of Mosul in Northern Iraq. These special operators were conducting an intelligence gathering mission when a firefight erupted with around 50 terrorists. The Daily Star writes, "Over the next four hours the British troops were caught up in a fighting withdrawal across the Iraqi countryside.
By the evening, the SAS team is reported to have killed around 20 enemy fighters and had nearly exhausted all of their ammunition. A source told the Daily Star that the unit was trapped in a small river bed. After performing an ammo check, the SAS soldiers determined that they had nearly 10 bullets left between them. The source added further that the British troops knew that they would be tortured and decapitated if captured. With this understanding, the special operators prepared to go down fighting.
The SAS soldiers were convinced that they were going to die after they were encircled, but surrender was never an option. (Photo: mirror.co.uk)
According to the Daily Star's source, "The SAS soldiers fixed bayonets, others drew their knives. They then shook hands and said their goodbyes before charging into a group of around 30 IS fighters." After firing their last few bullets, the soldiers used whatever tools they had to slash their way through the enemy. One of the SAS operators is reported to have, "drowned one of the terrorists in a small puddle by forcing his face into the mud and holding him down until he stopped moving." That same SAS soldier then "picked up a stone and smashed it into the face of another gunman wrestling with one of his colleagues." During the mayhem, another British soldier used his rifle as a club to kill three enemy fighters.
The source said that the SAS team fought like, "crazed warriors." It is estimated that in five minutes of brutal fighting, 12 terrorists were killed or severely wounded. The remaining IS fighters are reported to have fled.
Nearly all of the SAS soldiers were wounded during the fighting. Two of them sustained gunshot wounds. Despite those injuries, the unit walked five miles to a rendezvous point where a Kurdish fighter transported them back to an SAS base.
The Daily Star adds, "It is understood every member of the same unit returned to operations two days later apart from two soldiers who had suffered minor gunshot wounds." (Photo: dailystar.co.uk)