Copter swoop by SAS to save blast victim in Syria
BRITISH forces staged a top secret rescue mission deep inside Syria to save the life of an SAS man injured in a bomb blast.
Two RAF Chinook helicopters loaded with medics and Special Forces troops flew into Syrian air space from Cyprus.
The casualty was airlifted to a medical facility in Erbil, northern Iraq, this week for emergency treatment and is now thought to be stable.
The operation involved Israeli military air traffic controllers clearing the helicopters to fly through their air space.
Explosion
They flew through north Jordan and on to the remote US base Al-Tanf in the south of Syria.
Their HC6 Chinooks are hightech versions of the RAF’s superfast troops carrier, fitted with huge extra fuel tanks for long journeys and are usually used in Special Forces missions.
They took off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus where two Chinooks are in permanent readiness to support missions in Syria and Iraq.The soldier is understood to have been injured in an explosion and was airlifted to Al-Tanf where the helicopters picked him up and flew him across the border to Iraq.
The quick reaction unit included soldiers from the Special Force Support Group ready to provide protection for the aircraft just in case either had to make a forced landing in Syria.
A source said yesterday: “This is a standard operating procedure. That is why we have two helicopters sat in Cyprus supporting our troops.
“Their priority is to get him to Erbil. In some situations the US can help out, but clearly someone deemed it appropriate we get in there and evacuate him. I expect the US aircraft are deployed elsewhere which is why UK forces were more involved.” The Ministry of Defence said: “We do not comment on special forces.”
Special Forces troops have been operating in Syria for seven years with more than 45 soldiers decorated for their bravery
They have launched heroic operations against Islamic State and trained the Syrian Democratic Forces, who have been led by Kurdish forces.
Much of British Special Forces’ work has been alongside US and French teams. More than 30 SAS and Special Boat Service soldiers have been injured there – some seriously. In 2018 SAS man Sgt Matt Tonroe, 33, was killed in a joint US/UK operation in Syria.