UK SAS soldier shoots comrade with live bullets during training

Britain’s Special Air Service has come under fire after a member of the elite military force shot his comrade with live rounds during a training exercise at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

The injured soldier, who was apparently shot in close range, was immediately taken to hospital with a wounded arm and is still recovering after 12 weeks, the Times reported Tuesday.

During the exercise in January, two SAS teams were simulating a kidnapping at the GCHQ, Britain’s cyber intelligence and security service in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire which is more commonly known as the Doughnut for its shape.

One of the teams, playing the attackers, was tasked with invading the building and taking hostage spies played by office workers. The other team tried to rescue the spies and regain control of the building.

However, one of the soldiers shot a gun that fired live rounds instead of standard training ammunition which are similar to paintball pellets.

According to the report, while GCHQ officers were sitting in front of nearby computers to simulate an office environment none were injured in the mishap. About 6,000 people work in the building, but fewer than 50 took part.

An investigation into how a loaded gun came to be used was still ongoing. The MoD declined to comment.

The incident has reportedly caused tensions between intelligence chiefs and senior figures at the Hereford base of the SAS. The rift has further soured ties between GCHQ and the Ministry of Defense, which came to blows recently over who pays for new cyber-warfare equipment.

The UK Army's website states that the SAS "are tasked to the highest level and can operate in difficult and often changing circumstances."

Britain keeps the missions of its special forces a secret. However, some of the operations have been exposed after some forces were spotted abroad.

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While one source told the Times that the GCHQ was angry about the incident, another claimed that neither side held a grudge.

“It’s military dark humor but it was shrugged off in a way,” the source told the paper. “It’s one of those things that very occasionally – unfortunately – happens.”

Officials have denied the exercise was meant to protect British spies.

The GCHQ is notorious for secretly accessing fiber-optic cables carrying huge amounts of internet and communications data, a practice that was first disclosed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Secret documents leaked by Snowden also revealed that the GCHQ had monitored more than 1,000 targets in at least 60 countries between 2008 and 2011, in coordination with the US National Security Agency (NSA).

PressTV-UK court rules GCHQ “illegal” files be destroyed

A British court has ruled that intelligence agency, GCHQ, must destroy the evidence that it illegally intercepted from an illegal rendition victim sent to Libya to be tortured.

The agency is also able to tap into phone calls and e-mails of virtually any British citizen and steal their data.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a self-proclaimed watchdog for intelligence agencies, announced in 2016 that British spying agencies -- MI5, MI6 and GCHQ -- had collected the personal data of all Britons between 1998 and 2015.

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