Britain scrambles to explain SAS’s Libya ‘blunder’

The British government was left red-faced Monday after a botched attempt by special forces to make contact with opposition forces in Libya ended in the team being seized by rebels.

The team, reportedly made up of six soldiers from the elite SAS and two diplomats, flew into Libya by helicopter and made their way to the opposition-held city of Benghazi.

But they were rounded up by lightly armed rebels soon after they arrived, reports said.

The diplomats are believed to have been officers from Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence service whose mission was to contact rebel leaders and open the way for a delegation.