Two SAS soldiers injured in a roadside bomb blast in Yemen (Image: getty)
Both soldiers were in a 12-man coalition taskforce which flew into the wartorn country three weeks ago. The SAS is working alongside members of Operational Detachment Alpha, the primary fighting force for the Green Berets. Under US command, the heavily armed Special Forces team flew into Aden from Djibouti aboard a UAE Chinook helicopter and met UAE commanders before heading north-east in unmarked pick-up trucks. A large part of the east of country is controlled by anti-government Houthi rebels, including the vital port of Hudaydah - where Saudi Arabia has prevented humanitarian vessels landing supplies.
The soldiers were dressed in Arab clothing and were tasked with locating drop zones for food and medical supplies which can be easily accessed by desperate locals.
The unit is said to have been operating near the government-held town of Marib, 500 miles north of Aden, when one of the pickups they were travelling in was caught in a blast, triggered when the vehicle in front drove over a land mine.
Both soldiers sustained leg injuries and were evacuated in a UAE helicopter to the US military base in Djibouti, a small coastal nation on the Horn of Africa located across the Gulf of Aden.
They were later flown back to the UK via Cyprus and were last night said to be recovering from their wounds.
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