Two British special forces soldiers have been seriously injured after being hit by a missile during an attack by ISIS, as coalition forces push to destroy the last remnants of the fundamentalist group.

The incident is believed to have happened in Syria yesterday, and the soldiers were airlifted from the scene by US forces for specialist medical treatment.

Kurdish news outlet Rudaw reported the British soldiers were hurt in an attack on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) base in the town of Deir al-Zour.

An SDF official told Rudaw: 'Due to a smart missile attack by ISIS, a fighter of the YPG was killed and another wounded, in addition to two British soldiers.'

Two British special forces soldiers have been seriously injured after being hit by a missile during an attack by ISIS (stock image)

Last month Donald Trump said he would be withdrawing US troops from Syria after claiming ISIS had been defeated in the region.

Mr Trump said: 'We have defeated Isis in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.'

The move shocked US allies and American defence officials alike, with US defence secretary Jim Mattis and a top US official in the fight against IS, Brett McGurk, resigning soon after.

Despite the rhetoric of withdrawal, coalition forces have been busy retaking territory from a rapidly retreating ISIS in eastern Syria.

The heavy shelling from coalition forces has been targeting the terrorist group's remaining territory in the region, with ISIS fighters thought to be desperately clinging near town of Hajin.

After the heavy bombardments some ISIS fighters, along with civilians, are thought to have fled to the rural villages in the south.

US and UK forces have been carrying out air strikes against ISIS in Syria as part of their plan to defeat ISIS

Yesterday, Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic forces tweeted, he said: 'heavy clashes are taking place currently between our forces and ISIS terrorists due to an attack by ISIS on one of our points in Dier ez zor.

'everybody should be aware that ISIS is not defeated.'

In the final days of 2018 bombing was particularly intense in Kashmah, located in the Deir al-Zour province where the two British soldiers were thought to be badly injured.

The U.S backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which include Kurdish fighters, captured the town of Kashmah on January 2 after retaking the town of Hajin on Christmas Day.

The coalition has said it carried out 469 strikes in Syria between December 16 and December 29, which destroyed nearly 300 fighting positions, more than 150 staging areas, and a number of supply routes, oil lubricant storage facilities and equipment.

Aaron Stein, the Middle East program director at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Islamic State retained control of just a 'sprinkle of villages' near the Euphrates river.

He said: '(ISIS) will simply revert to a diffused rural insurgency where it could use just the tyranny of space - the desert is very big - to sort of hide out and be able to launch raiding attacks.'

The Trump administration is expected to withdraw all of the approximately 2,000 American troops from Syria.

Analysts and military experts, who disagree with Mr Trump, have said the threat posed by IS still remains.

Despite the announcement from President Trump, the State Department confirmed on Friday they have no actual timeline for withdrawal.

White House national security adviser John Bolton will also be traveling to Israel and Turkey in the coming days to discuss the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria.

'Bolton will travel to Israel and Turkey to discuss the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, and how the U.S. will work with allies and partners to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, stand fast with those who fought with us against ISIS, and counter Iranian malign behavior in the region,' Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said.

British special forces are believed to be on the ground in Syria, although the Government never comments on their deployment.

Islamic State declared its "caliphate" in 2014 after seizing large swathes of Syria and Iraq. The hardline Islamist group established its de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa, using it as a base to plot attacks in Europe.

Much of the U.S. campaign in Syria has been waged by warplanes flying out of Qatar and other locations in the Middle East.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'We do not comment on special forces.'

Sergeant Matt Tonroe of 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment of the SAS was killed while embedded with US forces in Syria when they were caught by an explosion in March 2018.

Sergeant Matt Tonroe: 'a popular bloke and a very capable soldier' Sergeant Matt Tonroe was the first British soldier killed in combat against Islamic State. The 33-year-old was on a covert operation to capture an IS commander when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the town of Manbij, in March 2018. An American special forces soldier was also killed and five US troops were wounded. Sgt Tonroe, from Manchester, joined the Army in 2004 and served in Afghanistan with the Paras before transferring to the SAS in 2010. Sgt Tonroe, 33, was on a covert operation to capture an IS commander when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Syrian town of Manbij Following his death, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson hailed him as a courageous and gifted soldier, and added: 'His unflinching commitment will never be forgotten.' In April this year SAS soldiers have paid tribute to a fallen comrade with a poignant parachute jump. Four black-clad members of the elite regiment leapt from a helicopter 3,000ft above their secret base. They quickly deployed their parachutes and landed near the SAS's regimental chapel. About 200 SAS soldiers and troops from Sgt Tonroe's former unit, the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, gathered at the SAS barracks near Hereford to pay tribute. Members of the soldier's family were also present. An SAS source said: 'It was a fitting tribute after a stirring funeral service. 'Sgt Tonroe was a popular bloke and a very capable soldier.' Advertisement