Tensions have soared since Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US air strike on Friday (Picture: KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images)

SAS troops were reportedly sent to the Middle East on Saturday for a possible rescue mission following the US assassination of a top Iranian General.

Around 50 members of the Special Air Service and the Navy’s Special Boat Service, along with the Special Forces Support Group, are said to have been flown to Iraq to help with ­evacuation of Britons in the region, if needed.

There are currently at least 1,400 military and UK government civilian personnel in Iraq already as part of Operation Shader, the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to The Mirror.



Britain has sent two warships to the Persian Gulf in a bid to protect citizens, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said last night.


He confirmed the HMS Montrose and HMS Defender have been sent back to resume maritime patrols in the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, claiming the government had ordered the vessels ‘to take all necessary steps to protect our ships and citizens at this time’.

They will accompany British-flagged ships to ensure they make it safely through the Strait, a particularly vulnerable area as 30% of the world’s oil passes through it from the Gulf to the oceans.

Around 50 troops are said to have been sent (Picture: BBC Picture Archives)

Qasem Soleimani was Iran’s second-in-command (Picture: KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images)

There are currently at least 1,400 military and UK government civilian personnel in Iraq

Defence chiefs are believed to have ordered British troops in Iraq – believed to be around 400 – to be on high alert following the assassination.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is yet to make a statement on the conflict, but is expected back from his luxury holiday in the Caribbean today.

Qasem Soleimani, head of Tehran’s elite Quds Force who spearheaded military operations in the Middle East, was killed in the early hours of Friday morning in a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump.

After a warning from Iran that ‘harsh vengeance awaited’, the US President announced plans to deploy 3,500 US troops to the Middle East and has threatened to target 52 Iranian sites if Tehran attacks Americans over the killing.

On Saturday evening, two rockets struck near Iraqi bases hosting US troops in Baghdad and Balad, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital.

No loss of life or casualties have been reported by the military.

A US government website was also targeted last night by hackers claiming to be from Iran.

Boris Johnson has yet to comment on the situation between the US and Iran (Picture: EPA)

Supporters of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force and Iraq\’s Hezbollah brigades attend the funeral of Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad’s district of al-Jadriya (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The website for the Federal Depository Library Program, fdlp.gov, showed a picture of Donald Trump being punched in the face.

It came with a message from ‘the Islamic Republic of Iran’ that read ‘Hacked by Iran Cyber Security Group Hackers’.

Hackers claimed ‘this is only a small part of Iran’s cyber ability’, adding ‘martyrdom was (Suleimani’s)… reward for years of implacable efforts’.

However, a US government spokesperson said ‘there is no confirmation’ this attack came from Iran, the Mirror reports.

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The incident came hours after mourners chanted ‘death to America’ at Soleimani’s funeral and burned US and UK flags.



British nationals have been advised against travel to Iraq, apart from essential travel to its Kurdistan Region.

All but essential travel to Iran has also been warned against.

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