British SAS soldiers were reportedly part of the US special forces mission that saw Islamic State commander Abu Sayyaf killed and his wife captured during an overnight raid.

The secret raid was revealed in May this year but was announced by the White House as a US special forces operation, in which Sayyaf was shot dead in a gun battle after “engaging” with American troops.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the raid had been a joint operation between British and US special forces, despite Parliament not yet approving the deployment of British troops in Syria to fight Isis.

In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Show all 20 1 /20 In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Syrian citizens check a damaged house that targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian boy (L) looking at a destroyed car that activists say was targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Parts of a missile that activists say was fired by coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Tthe guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launching Tomahawk cruise missiles against Isis targets In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launches a Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Red Sea, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets in Syria In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launching a Tomahawk cruise missile against Isis targets in Syria, as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria US navy sailors standing watch on the bridge while Tomahawk cruise missiles are launched against Isis targets in Syria, aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets AFP/Robert Burck In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The US-led airstrikes in Syria against Isis targets in and around the city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A fighter from the Isis group holds a piece of what the IS is saying is a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis organisation pray at the spot where the jihadist group said a US drone crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group gesture as they load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa. A US-led coalition on carried out its first air strikes and missile attacks against jihadist positions in Syria, with Damascus saying it had been informed by Washington before the operation began In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian man rides his bike past a communications tower that was destroyed after a US drone crashed into it, according to fighters with the Isis group, in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria People inspect a shop damaged after what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone crashed into a communication station nearby in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man holds the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Resident gather in the back of a van the remains of what Isis militants say was a drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isismilitants say was a U.S. drone which crashed into a communication tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa

The newspaper claims the elite British troops wore US uniforms, carried US weapons and were flown into Syria’s Deir ez-Zor in a US Osprey aircraft.

The SAS then reportedly dug into the desert and carried out a surveillance mission on Sayyaf’s compound, confirming his presence, before US jets attacked the Isis base and America’s Delta Force entered the area, shooting Sayyaf dead.

The Isis commander’s wife Umm Sayyaf was captured on the mission and a young Yazidi woman, believed to have been kept as a sex slave, was freed.

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

The Government has approved the deployment of British troops to fight Isis in Iraq, but not yet in Syria.

It was revealed by the Ministry of Defence in July that British pilots embedded with US and Canadian forces had been part of Syrian air strikes without Parliament’s knowledge.