SAS: The Shadow War
Podcast

SAS: The Shadow War

The Independent / Aurra Studios

5 episodes

For decades, the SAS has operated beyond public view, its missions shaped by secrecy and its reputation burnished by the rare moments when that secrecy has fallen away. In SAS: The Shadow War, The Independent's world affairs editor Sam Kiley traces the regiment’s covert campaign against the IRA in Northern Ireland, from the surveillance operations and ambushes of the Troubles to the hard questions that still endure today. Along the way, the Iranian Embassy siege and a deadly operation in Gibraltar reveal how the SAS became both a celebrated and a contested force. Drawing on rare and previously unheard first-hand accounts from former operatives and those who witnessed the conflict up close, this eight-part documentary series explores a war fought largely out of sight – and the legal battle now being waged over how its actions should be judged. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

What this show covers

The TroublesIRANorthern IrelandsurveillanceBritish Special ForcesSouth ArmaghAccountabilityIranian Embassy siegeGibraltarBritish military historyCovert operations

What listeners will find here

Hidden in the hedgerows: the covert surveillance war in South Armagh
This episode explores the hidden surveillance battle between British Special Forces and the Provisional IRA. Sam Kiley follows the danger of lying concealed for days in fields and hedgerows, and the wider human cost as both sides adapted and the conflict intensified.
An SAS ambush in the Troubles—and the fight over its legacy
This episode examines the SAS ambush at Drumnakilly, four miles south of Omagh, targeting an IRA unit suspected in deadly attacks on soldiers. Sam Kiley speaks with the former SAS ground commander who led the operation, while also exploring the lasting legal and moral questions it still raises.
How the same SAS unit became heroes in 1980 and a scandal in 1988
This episode examines two landmark SAS operations with opposite public legacies: the Iranian Embassy siege in London and the Gibraltar shootings. Sam Kiley looks at how one mission turned the regiment into national heroes while the other triggered years of scrutiny and controversy.
Inside the SAS campaign in Northern Ireland and the questions it still raises
This trailer introduces an eight-part documentary on the SAS’s covert war against the IRA in Northern Ireland. Sam Kiley follows surveillance missions, ambushes, and defining moments like the Iranian Embassy siege and Gibraltar, while examining the legal and moral debates that remain unresolved.

Episodes

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