Three British special forces 'injured in Iraq ambush'

Three British special forces personnel were injured in an ambush by so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq, according to a report in the Daily Mirror.

The men from the SAS and its naval counterpart, the SBS, were part of a 25-strong unit of allied troops spying on IS positions near the northern city of Mosul.

They suffered shrapnel injuries when they were fired upon with rocket propelled grenades, the newspaper reported.

After receiving treatment on the ground they were given a medical evacuation back to Britain. The allied forces are said to have called in an air strike to tackle the fighters, who mounted the attack from captured US Humvee vehicles armed with heavy machine guns.

Around 30 IS insurgents were killed in the 15-minute firefight that took place around 10 miles south of the city's airport last week, the newspaper said.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.