Islamic State jihadists launched a wave of suicide attacks on a British special forces training base in Syria, in one of the fiercest assaults on anti-Isil coalition forces there to date.

Fighters from Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil) used a vehicle bomb to try to blow their way into the al-Tanf garrison, which has been used by SAS and US special forces to train moderate Syrian rebels.

The blast early Sunday morning was followed up with a ground attack by up to 30 Isil fighters and suicide bombers, but they were beaten back with coalition air strikes and help from Western troops.