Officer armed with shotgun took down five 'heavily armed men' in quick succession, before several others surrendered

Performed a dawn raid on the property when they expected attack was imminent

An SAS officer armed with a shotgun has killed five jihadis during a dawn raid, it has been reported.

The intense fire fight was over in just seven seconds, and quickly led to the militant group's surrender of the stronghold.

The covert operation took place on an Islamic State outpost in Baghdad, Iraq.

MI6 agents, working with Iraq's special forces, had identified the building as a suspected bomb factory from which militants would carry out attacks.

An SAS officer armed with a shotgun has killed five jihadis during a dawn raid. The intense fire fight was over in just seven seconds, and quickly led to the militant group's surrender of the stronghold (stock photo)

A 12-man SAS team was then sent to watch the house for several days.

Upon receiving reports of a planned multiple suicide bombing, the team planned a dawn raid for the next day.

A 'breach team' were the first to enter, breaking through a doorway into a courtyard.

However they were soon faced by a group of heavily armed men, who had reportedly just finished morning prayers and were loading weapons into a vehicle.

One of the officers, armed with a Benelli M4 Super 90 semi-automatic shotgun, fired at them, killing three would-be bombers.

A 'breach team' were the first to enter, breaking through a doorway into a courtyard. They were soon faced by a group of heavily armed men, who had reportedly just finished morning prayers and were loading weapons into a vehicle (stock photo)

Another two terrorists then appeared from a building, but before they could fire off a shot they had been neutralised them as well.

'The terrorists were no more than a few feet away when the SAS team came face to face with them,' a source told the Daily Star about the raid late last year.

'One of the breach team opened fire with a shotgun and shot dead three before they could get a shot off. Another two terrorists appeared from a building and he neutralised them as well.

'Several other terrorists emerged from the building but immediately surrendered and began panicking as two of the bodies didn’t have heads – they thought they were about to be executed.'

One of the officers, armed with a Benelli M4 Super 90 semi-automatic shotgun, similar to the one pictured, fired at them, killing three would-be bombers (stock photo)

It was reported that two suicide vests, one weighing 30lbs, were found on the dead men. They were made mostly from ball bearings and plastic explosives.

At least one officer on a raid is armed with a 12 gauge pump-action Benelli shotgun, which is usually used to blast through locks and remove hinges from doors.

The Ministry of Defence does not comment on special forces operations.