A MILITARY dog has been credited with saving the lives of an SAS patrol ambushed by nine jihadis. The unnamed Belgian malinois, a breed of sheepdog, was with a team of six crack soldiers in northern Syria. They entered a small village in a convoy of armoured vehicles but when they continued on foot they were attacked in a ‘360 degree ambush’.

The SAS returned fire but as the jihadis closed in, the dog’s handler unmuzzled it and pointed it in the direction of the gunfire. It targeted one gunman’s throat and killed him before attacking two other jihadis, causing serious injuries. The remaining six terrorists then fled.

‘They could hear screaming and shouting before the firing from the house stopped,’ a source told The Daily Star. ‘When the team entered the building they saw the dog standing over a dead gunman. His throat had been torn out and he had bled to death. There was a lump of human flesh in one corner and blood trails leading out of the back of the building.’ The incident took place two months ago, but can only now be revealed for security reasons.

‘The dog was virtually uninjured. The SAS were able to consolidate their defensive position and break away from the battle without taking any casualties,’ the source added. The SAS patrol commander credited the dog with saving their lives.