BICOM

Two British Special Forces soldiers were seriously injured after an ISIS missile attack in the Deir al-Zour region on Saturday.

The Telegraph reports that the two soldiers are from Britain’s elite 22 SAS Regiment. One of the soldiers is believed to have been hit in the throat with shrapnel, and the other has “non-life-threatening” injuries. They were reportedly taken to a makeshift hospital at the al-Omar oil field on Saturday evening.

The soldiers were attacked alongside two fighters from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). It is believed that they were hit by a guided anti-tank missile near al-Shaafah, in eastern Syria. A Kurdish soldier, fighting alongside the British forces, was killed in the missile strike and five other British troops were reportedly injured. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We do not comment on special forces.”

A Kurdish official told Rudaw: “Due to a smart missile attack by ISIS, a fighter of the YPG [Kurdish militia] was killed and another wounded, in addition to two British soldiers.” A Syrian-Kurdish journalist said the attack occurred during a joint patrol by British and Kurdish forces.

According to UK government figures, RAF fighter jets and drones conducted 46 strikes against ISIS targets in Syria in the first two weeks of December. These strikes helped push ISIS forces out of the Hajin area, near the Iraqi border, which has been described by the Ministry of Defence as “the terrorists’ last significant territory”.

The attack came just weeks after US President Donald Trump declared ISIS “defeated” in Syria, and ordered a withdrawal of US troops from Syria. In response, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The advance through Hajin is a huge milestone and shows that Daesh [ISIS] are being pushed further back into the shadows. Make no mistake though, although this is another significant battle won, much hard work still lies ahead to ensure we win the war.”

On Sunday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said the US withdrawal would be slower than the President suggested. He also stated the withdrawal would be conditional on Turkey agreeing not to target US and UK-backed Kurdish allies.

In March 2018, Sgt. Matt Tonroe from the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment was killed by an improvised explosive device during a US operation in Manbij.