MoD reports soldier to police over his account of Iraq ‘mercy killing’

AN SAS hero who admitted shooting dead ‘two or three’ mortally wounded Iraqi troops is facing murder charges after the Ministry of Defence launched an investigation.

Sergeant Colin Maclachlan could be jailed for the ‘mercy killing’ of the soldiers 13 years ago.

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The 42-year-old war hero is being investigated by military police after revealing details of the 2003 battle in a new book, the reports.

Maclachlan, who starred in the Channel 4 series Who Dares Wins, was told of the police inquiry in an email from MoD officials last week.

He says he has not been offered any support or legal advice by either the MoD or his former regiment.

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Maclachlan, who left the SAS and the Army in 2006, said ending the lives the ‘horrifically wounded’ Iraqis had been purely an act of mercy.

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He said: “‘Our motives were entirely humane. I’ll happily go to court, I’ll happily go to jail, if you think I’ve done wrong.

"But people should put themselves in my position first. Walk around in my boots, then judge me."

The Mail on Sunday reports that the MoD has confirmed it has launched an inquiry, but refused to reveal further details

Killing badly wounded enemy troops - even when intended as a ‘mercy killing’ - is illegal under UK military law.

It is also a breach of international treaties such as the Geneva Convention.

Maclachlan wrote about his experiences in book SAS Who Dares Wins: Leadership Secrets From The Special Forces.

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In the chapter, which the MoD ordered to be censored, he wrote: "When we got there, I could see there were a number of seriously injured soldiers. Many of them had lost limbs. One or two had been disembowelled, but they were still alive.

"Special Forces operatives quickly put them out of their misery, rather than leaving them to die slowly and in agony.

He added: "I didn’t enjoy killing those soldiers at the checkpoint but I had to put them out of their misery. I didn’t want them to suffer any more."

In August SAS legend Albert ‘Pat’ Patterson  was released early after serving four months of a cruel 15-month stretch for keeping a war trophy pistol seized during the Falklands conflict.

It ended a nightmare that began with his shock sentence last April — which enraged the nation and sparked a victorious campaign by The Sun for his early release.

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