SAS commander faces three-year police probe after lawful ISIS target kill in Syria
The SAS commanding officer was interrogated by military police over a 2022 Syrian operation that killed an ISIS terrorist, despite the strike being judged legitimate.
A five-person SAS squad killed an ISIS terrorist in Syria in 2022, a strike later described as legitimate and proportionate by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Williams and two senior officers. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, serving as Director Special Forces, overruled this assessment and launched a three-year criminal probe, Operation Tanglement 2, involving the Royal Military Police’s Special Investigation Branch. The SAS commanding officer, a squadron commander and the regiment’s Chief of Staff were interviewed under caution, sparking fierce backlash at SAS headquarters in Hereford.
Critics say the investigation was prompted by media scrutiny and a Panorama inquiry rather than genuine misconduct concerns. The cases were closed in 2025, but the episode has harmed careers, morale, and coincides with broader legal challenges to special-forces operations.
Why it matters
It highlights how political and media pressure can undermine elite military units and affect their morale.
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