SAS Secretly Hunted and Killed Militants Behind 2003 British Troop Murders in Iraq, Report Claims

The Special Air Service (SAS) secretly tracked down and killed two members of the gang responsible for murdering six British military policemen in Iraq in June 2003, according to revelations from SAS sources cited in a new book. The deaths of these British 'Red Caps' marked the largest loss of UK lives to enemy forces in the Iraq War at the time.

For 23 years, it was believed the perpetrators of the attack in Al Majar al-Kabir had escaped justice by fleeing across the border into Iran. However, sources close to the operation have revealed that the SAS located and eliminated two of the Iranian-backed gang members involved. The specific details of these killings have not been disclosed.

SAS sources also indicated that more members of the gang would have been targeted if not for intervention from UK high command. Generals reportedly feared that confronting Iranian-backed terrorists could incite an uprising against British forces in southern Iraq, a region predominantly Shia, similar to Iran.

John Miller, father of Corporal Simon Miller, who was 21 at the time of his death, expressed his shock at the news. "This has been kept from us for 23 years. I can’t believe we are hearing it now, from you. I am very pleased to hear two of them are dead," Miller told The Mail on Sunday. He added, "But it is another sickening blow for the families that the SAS were stopped from hunting down the others. They got away with it. The SAS catching these guys was our best chance of justice."

The six military policemen killed were Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, Corporal Russell Aston, 30, Corporal Paul Long, 24, Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, 23, and Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20. They were murdered in an Iraqi police station following an angry demonstration. Iraqi police officers reportedly fled the scene shortly before the attack.

An SAS officer quoted in the book described the unit's efforts to identify the killers. "We couldn’t believe how disinterested UK commanders were in finding those responsible. We just got on with it and got lucky," the officer stated. "We got their names and went after the murderers. But the reaction from the hierarchy was, 'Stop, you’re stirring up opposition to us'. Every one of those gang members posed a live threat to UK forces. We would have got them all given the chance. We flew back to Baghdad knowing more British troops’ lives would be lost because of the reluctance of senior officers to confront the Iranian threat."

Families of the fallen soldiers have consistently disputed the findings of a 2006 inquest that concluded their deaths could not have been avoided. Their anger was further compounded in 2013 when nine Iraqi police officers were awarded £800,000 in compensation after alleging they had been tortured to reveal the killers' names.

The Ministry of Defence has conveyed its "heartfelt sympathies" to the families of the slain troops. Officials generally do not comment on specific SAS operations.

This account is drawn from the book "Blades" by Mark Nicol, scheduled for publication on Thursday.