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Reports: SAS Corner Hundreds Of Daesh Jihadists
British Special Forces have cornered hundreds of militants from Daesh in so-called "kill boxes" as the fighters use pregnant women for shields, according to reports.
According to The Mail On Sunday, commandos from the SAS and SBS have co-ordinated the attacks by land, sea and air to retake control of a crucial oil port in Libya.
Working with the US Navy Seals, the British forces used drones and high-tech cameras to locate hundreds of jihadists in the city of Sirte on June 11.
In a surprise assault with the Libyan Army, Air Force and Coastguard – fighter bombers and helicopter gunships conducted a series of raids destroying buildings and driving the militants into the open.
The paper claims they were then strafed by Russian-made Hind attack helicopters while the coastguard blocked any possible escape by sea and ground troops moved in under the cover of sniper fire to create a new frontline.
Russian Mil Mi-24 (Hind) Attack Helicopter. Courtesy: Igor Dvurekov
Two 500lb bombs were also dropped.
The Daesh jihadists were cornered into a number of "kill boxes" in an urban area but they reportedly used pregnant women and children as human shields.
The forces of the UN-backed Libyan government lost 35 soldiers with 55 more wounded in the fighting.
The operations are being directed by around 100 SBS and US Navy Seals personnel from bases in Malta and Cyprus, and from the Libyan city of Misrata.
It follows reports the SAS are to spearhead an anti-Daesh offensive in Libya.
A senior military adviser told the paper:
“Storming the kill boxes is a tempting option for the Libyan military forces, who are desperate to get IS out of their country. But there would be risks to families they are holding hostage.”
"If our hands were not tied by UN Security Council sanctions against training and equipping these former militias we would be confident of a speedy victory in the sort of undercover operation we are trained for.
"Instead, the best option might be to starve them out. We calculate these fighters will run out of ammo, food and water within a month."
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