He killed the would-be executioner from a range of 1,000m with a head shot before taking out three other members of Isis in Syria.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency - AN SAS sniper saved the lives of a father and son just seconds before they were about to be executed by a knife-wielding jihadi.



He killed the would-be executioner from a range of 1,000m with a head shot before taking out three other members of Isis in Syria.



The father and his eight-year-old boy were just seconds from death after refusing to denounce their faith.



Both are Shia Muslims who Isis regard as "infidels". But the pair refused and were facing imminent death.



The shooting occurred last month in Northern Syria, close to the border with Turkey where the SAS unit had been conducting covert patrols.



Defence sources said the British special forces were alerted by an Iraqi spy.



The SAS unit moved into a position just outside a village where Isis members were holding a trial in front of a crowd of locals.



The crack team considered calling in an air strike using a Reaper Drone but the elite troops feared many innocent civilians who had been forced to watch the executions might also be killed.



Instead the SAS unit decided on a risky long-range kill using the team’s sniper.



One source said: “There were several decapitated bodies already lying on the ground.



"Through binoculars the soldiers could see that the crowd were terrified and many were in tears."



A man and a young boy were dragged out in front of the crowd and were made to kneel down.



"They were both wearing blindfolds and looked terrified.



"A tall bearded man emerged and drew a long knife."He began addressing the crowd and slapping the father and his son around the head and kicking them on to the floor.



"Standing either side of the executioner were two other Isis fighters, both armed with AK47s."



The SAS marksman, using a .50 calibre sniper rifle fitted with a silencer, killed the executioner just in time.



The source added: "The Isis thug who was about to decapitate the father was shot in the head and collapsed.



"Everyone just stared in confusion.



"The sniper then dispatched the two henchmen with single shots – three kills with three bullets.



"Someone from the crowd then ran over and untied the father and son’s hands and took their blindfolds off.



"They just stared at the bodies and then ran.



"They were last seen heading towards the Turkish border in a pick-up truck.



"It was a good day’s work."



The SAS team was later told the village held a party to celebrate the deaths of the Isis fighters and it is understood terrorists have since refused to enter the town.



SAS teams have fought alongside resistance fighters in both Iraq and Syria for more than a year.











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