London, Jul 17 (IANS): Britain's Ministry of Defence has expressed its concern at the publication of the photographs that show the country's elite special forces in training missions. It will soon launch a probe into the matter, a media report said.

"We are aware of an incident involving soldiers sharing images online. We expect the highest standards of behaviour from our personnel at all times, whether on or off duty," the Telegraph on Sunday quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.

"If any action by service personnel are deemed to breach values and standards, they are treated very seriously and there are a number of sanctions available to the chain of command up to or including discharge," the spokesman added.

According to the strict lifetime confidentiality agreements, members of the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) cannot disclose the operational details of a mission and the images -- with soldiers' faces blacked out -- are understood to be in a breach of the rules.

The Facebook page where the photos were posted read: "This is a page dedicated to one of the finest special forces in the world -- The SAS or Special Air Service. These highly trained elite warriors have been around since world war two... hope you like the page."

Although it was unclear where the photographs were taken, it is believed that the photos -- that appear to show members of the SAS and SBS -- were snapped in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In several photographs, troops were seen working with military dogs trained for carrying cameras, sniffing out explosives, among others, the report said.

The photographs also show the troops wearing new style of combat gear and carrying Colt Commando assault rifles.

The most recent photos were posted in June and have received hundreds of 'likes'.