Did the SAS participate in the Iraq war?
History of the Special Air Service
In mid-January 2006, Operation Paradoxical was replaced by Operation Traction: the SAS update/integration into JSOC, they deployed TGHG (Task Group Headquarters Group): this included senior officers and other senior members of 22 SAS - to JSOCs base at Balad. This was the first deployment of TGHG to Iraq since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the upgrade now meant that the SAS were "joined at the hip" with JSOC and it gave the SAS a pivatol role against Sunni militant groups, particularly AQI In March 2006, members of B squadron SAS were involved in the release of peace activists Norman Kember, James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden. The three men had been held hostage in Iraq for 118 days during the Christian Peacemaker hostage crisis. in April 2006 B squadron, launched Operation Larchwood 4 which was an intelligence coup which led to the death of AQI's leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In November 2006, Sergeant Jon Hollingsworth was killed in Basra whilst assaulting a house containing a senior al-Qaeda member; he was decorated for his service in this unit. On 20 March 2007 G squadron raided a house in Basra and captured Qais Khazali; a senior Shia militant and an Iranian proxy, his brother and Ali Mussa Daqduq, without casualties. The raid turned out to be most significant raid conducted by British forces in Iraq, gaining valuable intelligence on Iranian involvement in the Shia insurgency. During the Spring and summer of 2007, the SAS suffered several men seriously wounded as it extended its operations into Sadr City. From 2007 to early 2008, A squadron achieved "extraordinary" success impact in destroying al-Qaeda's VIBED network in Iraq, ultimately saving lives. In early 2008, B squadron carried out the regiments first HAHO parachute assault in Iraq. In May 2008, the SAS replaced their Humvee's for new Bushmaster armoured vehicles. On 30 May 2009, Operation Crichton; the UKSF deployment to Iraq ended, over the course of the war, 6 SAS soldiers were killed and a further 30 injured.
Chris Ryan
Ryan made SAS history with the "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier", covering more than SAS trooper Jack Sillito had in the Sahara Desert in 1942. Ryan completed a tab from an observation point on the Iraqi MSR between Baghdad and North-Western Iraq to the Syrian Border.
Secret Intelligence Service
In March 2016, it was reported that MI6 had been involved in the Libyan Civil War since January of that year, escorted by the SAS, to meet with Libyan officials to discuss the supplying of weapons and training for the Syrian Army and the militias fighting against ISIS. In April 2016, it was revealed that MI6 teams with members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment seconded to them had been deployed to Yemen to train Yemeni forces fighting AQAP, as well as identifying targets for drone strikes. In November 2016, the "Independent" reported that MI6, MI5 and GCHQ supplied the SAS and other British special forces- as part of a multinational special forces operation- a list (compiled from intelligence) of 200 British jihadist to kill or capture before they attempt to return to the UK. The 200 male and female jihadists are senior members of ISIS that pose a direct threat to the UK; Sources said SAS soldiers have been told that the mission could be the most important in the regiment's 75-year history.
Special Boat Service
In 1987, they were renamed Special Boat Service, and became part of the United Kingdom Special Forces Group alongside the Special Air Service and 14 Intelligence Company. In the Gulf War, there was no amphibious role assigned to the SBS, an "area of operations line" was drawn down the middle of Iraq, the SAS would operate west of the line and the SBS to the east. As well as searching for mobile scud launchers, their area contained a mass of fibre-optic cable that provided Iraq with intelligence, the location of the main junction was 32 miles from Baghdad; On 22 January 1991, 36 SBS members were inserted by two Chinook helicopters from No. 7 Squadron RAF, into an area full of Iraqi ground and air forces as well as spies and nomads, avoiding them and destroying a 40-yard section of the cable with explosives, destroying what was left of the Iraqi communication grid. The SBS carried out one of its most high-profile operations when it liberated the British Embassy in Kuwait, abseiling from helicopters hovering above the embassy. They were also responsible for carrying out diversionary raids along the Kuwaiti coast which in effect diverted a number of Iraqi troops to the SBS area of operations and away from the main thrust of the coalition build up.
Special Air Service
Various British newspapers have speculated on SAS involvement in Operation Ellamy and the 2011 Libyan civil war. The "Daily Telegraph" reports that "defence sources have confirmed that the SAS has been in Libya for several weeks, and played a key role in coordinating the fall of Tripoli." While "The Guardian" reports "They have been acting as forward air controllers—directing pilots to targets—and communicating with NATO operational commanders. They have also been advising rebels on tactics."
Special Air Service
The Gulf War, in which A, B and D squadrons deployed, was the largest SAS mobilisation since the Second World War, also notable for the failure of the Bravo Two Zero mission. In Sierra Leone it took part in Operation Barras, a hostage rescue operation, to extract members of the Royal Irish Regiment. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda in 2001, 2 squadrons of 22 SAS, reinforced by members of both the territorial SAS units deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Coalition invasion at the start of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), to dismantle and destroy al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power in the War on Terror. The Regiment carried out Operation Trent – the largest operation in its history, which included its first wartime HALO parachute jump. Following the invasion, the Regiment continued to operate in Afghanistan against the Taliban and other insurgents until 2006, where its deployment Iraq became its focus of operations until 2009, when the SAS redeployed to Afghanistan.
1st SAS Brigade
The 1st Special Air Service Brigade (1st SAS) was a fictional brigade during the Second World War. It was first formed in Cairo in 1941, as part of a deception by Brigadier Dudley Clarke, to play on Italian fears of airborne attacks. Clarke used documents, photographs, news reports and even fake SAS soldiers to plant information about the brigade – he even named the Cairo-based deception department, 'A' Force, to bolster evidence of their existence.
Operation Barras
One British soldier, Bradley Tinnion, was killed in the operation. Another twelve soldiers were injured, one seriously. The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) did not officially acknowledge the involvement of special forces, issuing a press release which made no mention of the SAS, but when it was made public that Brad Tinnion was a Lance Bombardier originally from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, it became clear to experts that Tinnion had been serving with special forces. Operation Barras was Tinnion's first operational deployment as an SAS trooper.
Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War
Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War is an American special operations unit, of which little is publicly known. It is described as a "hunter-killer team" with its core made up of the United States Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force or Delta) and the 75th Ranger Regiment, as well as the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six) and members of the United States Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron (24 STS), all under Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and elements from the United Kingdom Special Forces, including the Special Air Service (22 SAS or SAS), Special Boat Service (SBS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment (18 SR) and the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG). The unit was reported to be responsible for the cross border raid into Syria from Iraq in October 2008 that resulted in eight deaths including Abu Ghadiya, along with several US operations in the Horn of Africa targeting al Qaeda.
American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
On 4 March, a US-led Coalition airstrike targeted Omar al-Shishani, ISIL's top field commander, who was travelling in a jihadist's convoy near al-Shaddadi in northeastern Syria; the strike injured him, and he later died from his injuries, However this was later revealed to be incorrect, he was actually killed in an airstrike in Iraq in July 2016.
Also that day, 100 ISIS militants assaulted Peshmerga lines in Syria, U.S. Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV helped the Peshmerga to repel the attack, as ISIS fighters sent a car bomb towards him, Keating led a team to counterattack with sniper and rocket fire. For his actions during the battle he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
List of SAS operations
Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa
Special Air Service Regiment
In 1998, the SASR made its first squadron-strength deployment since Vietnam when 1 Squadron, with an attached New Zealand SAS troop, was deployed to Kuwait in February as part of the American-led Operation Desert Thunder. The force, known as Anzac Special Operations Force (ANZAC SOF), was fully integrated, with the New Zealanders providing the squadron's third troop. While the crisis was resolved peacefully, if military action had been taken the SASR would have been used in the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) role to recover aircrew shot down by Iraqi air defences. The force returned to Australia in June 1998. Regardless, the operation represented the first time that SASR tactical headquarters had been deployed outside of Australia.
Operation Defeat Al Qaeda in the North
Operation Defeat Al Qaeda in the North or OP DAN was an operation conducted by Marines, A co. 2/504th Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, an attachment of the 101st Airborne Division, MWSS 374 and Iraqi security forces in 2008 in Al Anbar Province, Salah Ad Din Province, and Ninewa Province to hunt down and rid the Northern part of Iraq of insurgents. It was known that the desert north of Lake Tharthar was being used by insurgents to move weapons, munitions, and foreign fighters from Syria to Mosul. During Spring and Summer of 2008, a task force of Marines and paratroopers established a base of operations in the desert to the north of the lake and conducted patrols of the surrounding area to break the supply lines. The US forces managed to locate and destroy a large number of explosives and weapons, as well as kill or capture known enemy combatants. In the process, A co. 2/504th PIR conducted the first company-sized operation using the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. As these operations continued, Iraqi Army outposts were built and staffed, allowing for the Iraqi Army to assume the US forces' duties in Fall 2009.
Marine Wing Support Squadron 273
MWSS-273 deployed twice in squadron strength to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The “Sweathogs” have established an impressive record as a forward deployed unit as they conducted 24-hour Aviation Ground Support operations at Al Asad Airbase, the Forward Operating Base at Al Qa'im and the Forward Arming and Refueling Point Mudayasis. During their most recent deployment, MWSS-273 was responsible for the tactical recovery of an unprecedented seven Coalition Aircraft. In only seven months, MWSS-273 provided over 28 million gallons of fuel to Coalition aircraft, conducted over of motor transport operations, rendered safe 126 enemy explosive devices, destroyed ten enemy weapons caches, conducted over 11,000 hours of heavy equipment operations, two water main repairs, and four outside-the-wire construction missions to improve living conditions at local Combat Outposts.
Basra
On 19 September 2005, two undercover British SAS soldiers disguised in Arab civilian clothes and headdresses opened fire on Iraqi police officers after having been stopped at a roadblock, killing at least one. After the two soldiers were arrested, the British Army raided the jail they were being held in to rescue them, killing several people from among their nominal allies – the Iraqi security forces.
History of the Special Air Service
The desert units were resupplied by a temporary formation known as E squadron, this were made up of Bedford 4-ton trucks and heavily armed SAS Land Rovers. They drove from Saudi Arabia on February 10, rendezvousing with SAS units some 86 miles inside Iraq on February 12, returning to Saudi Arabia on February 17. members of 21 and 23 SAS were used as battlefield casualty replacements for deployed 22 SAS units, namely landrover fighting columns from A and D Squadrons who were operating in the Iraqi Desert.
History of the School of Advanced Military Studies
SAMS's "Jedi Knights" played a significant role in the Global War on Terror as well. The United States Central Command requested SAMS graduates along with its "sister schools", the United States Air Force's School of Advanced Air and Aerospace Studies (SAAAS), as well as the United States Marine Corps's School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW). These planners participated in the preparations for the invasion of Iraq, as well as a "post-hostility plan for the occupation of Iraq".
VMFA-232
The squadron deployed to Kuwait in January 2003 and took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the three and a half weeks of the war the squadron flew 1,150 hours during 540 sorties dropping 620,000 pounds of ordnance. The squadron returned to MCAS Miramar in April 2003. In 2005, VMFA-232 became part of the United States Navy's Carrier Air Wing 11. In May 2005 they deployed with the rest of CVW-11 aboard the to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf, participating in combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and multinational exercises with Japan, Egypt, and India until November 2005.
Early in the "Nimitz" deployment, several of the squadron members were interviewed for the PBS documentary "Carrier". In 2007 the squadron deployed on the Nimitz again for a six-month cruise to the Persian Gulf. Four months later they did another WestPac deployment on the Nimitz. In January 2010 VMFA-232 accepted two F/A-18D Hornet aircraft and left in May 2010 for a deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While in Afghanistan the Red Devils flew 4,090 Flight hours encompassing 1190 sorties and dropped 240,000 lbs of ordnance and expended 30,000 rounds of 20mm ammunition. They returned to MCAS Miramar in November 2010.
Operation Barras
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a corps of the British Army and part of the United Kingdom's special forces. It consists of three regiments, of which two are drawn from the Territorial Army and one regular regiment—22 Regiment, which was involved in Operation Barras. The SAS was formed by Colonel David Stirling in Africa in 1941, at the height of the Second World War's North African Campaign. Its original role was to penetrate enemy lines and strike at airfields and supply lines deep in enemy territory, first in North Africa and later around the Mediterranean and in occupied Europe. Stirling established the principle of using small teams—having realised that small, well-trained teams could sometimes prove much more effective than a unit of hundreds of soldiers. The SAS first entered the public eye after Operation Nimrod, the operation to end the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980.
Marine Air Support Squadron 1
On 21 January 2003, the squadron deployed to Kuwait and was attached to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and conducted airborne DASC operations during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, returning home in May 2003. In January 2005, MASS-1 redeployed to Iraq to provide a DASC, Air Support Elements and Air Support Liaison Teams throughout Al Anbar Province. MASS-1 deployed to Iraq a third time in 2007 for a year-long tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2009, the squadron returned to Iraq for another 12-month deployment, while also sending a detachment on a concurrent combat deployment to Afghanistan in support of Marine Aircraft Group 40. Since the end of combat operations, MASS-1 moved into a state-of-the-art aviation C2 complex in 2016. MASS-1 leads the Marine Air Command and Control community as an innovator, qualifying the first DASC data link specialists (JICO/AJOC), developing enlisted controllers who are also qualified to operate from U.S. Navy ships, and integrating live/virtual/constructive training networks into their garrison facility.
Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War
Based in the Baghdad area at MSS Fernandez, TF Black (which was supported by Parachute Regiment members of the SFSG) is based around a squadron of the SAS, with integrated units from the SBS, SRR, 18 SR and Delta Force. In the early months of 2004, the SAS used their capabilities in reconnaissance and surveillance to watch suspects and develop/gather intelligence for the coalition intelligence services. The SAS operational process in Baghdad was known as find-fix-finish, working backwards with the 'finish' part being a raid to take down a suspect, 'fix' involved pinpointing a time and place which a target can be taken and 'find' would be finding the insurgent/terrorist. In this period they almost captured/killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi when they assaulted a house in Baghdad; after forcing entry they withdrew when they discovered a booby trap, they still managed to overwhelm the occupants of the building and captured intelligence revealed Zarqawi had left a short time before. Due to mistreatment of detainees and the conditions at Camp Nama and JSOC's TSF (Temporary Screening Facility) at Balad and the deportation of detainees to Bagram Airbase, US-UK relations were strained when they refused to turn over detainee's to US custody, McChrystal kept Task Force Black out of JSOC, but this would change in 2006, in the mean time Task Force Black targets were former Ba'athist party regime elements. On 11 April 2005, Task Force Blacks G squadron, SAS captured Fadhil Ibrahim al-Mashhadani, one of Saddam Hussein's former apparatchik after assaulting his house. At about the same time, in an attempt to find the kidnappers of a foreigner, the SAS also captured a former senior Ba'athist party official and another man, they didn't find the hostage but the men were definitely connected to the kidnappers; however they were later released when US intelligence revealed that they were CIA assets. In Spring 2005, the Director of Special Forces rebalanced British special forces deployments so that Afghanistan would be the responsibility of the SBS and Iraq would be that of the SAS. Following the Basra prison incident in September 2005, in which the name of the unit 'Task force Black' was leaked to the press; the unit was renamed 'Task force Knight'
List of SAS operations
The Special Air Service began life in July 1941, the brainchild of Leftenant David Stirling of No. 8 (Guards) Commando. His idea was for small teams of parachute trained soldiers to operate behind enemy lines to gain intelligence, destroy enemy aircraft and attack their supply and reinforcement routes. The SAS carried out this role until the end of the war serving in a number of theatres and campaigns.
Operation Flavius
Operation Flavius (also referred to as the "Gibraltar killings") was a controversial military operation in which three members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) were shot dead by the British Special Air Service (SAS) in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988. The three—Seán Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell (all Volunteers of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade ) —were believed to be mounting a car bomb attack on British military personnel in Gibraltar. Plain-clothed SAS soldiers approached them in the forecourt of a petrol station, then opened fire, killing them. All three were found to be unarmed, and no bomb was discovered in Savage's car, leading to accusations that the British government had conspired to murder them. An inquest in Gibraltar ruled that the SAS had acted lawfully, while the European Court of Human Rights held that, although there had been no conspiracy, the planning and control of the operation was so flawed as to make the use of lethal force almost inevitable. The deaths were the first in a chain of violent events in a fourteen-day period. On 16 March, the funeral of the three IRA members was attacked by a loyalist wielding pistols and grenades, leaving three mourners dead. Then, at the funeral of one of the mourners, the IRA shot two undercover British soldiers who had driven into the procession.
Mobile army surgical hospital (United States)
During the Gulf War, in October 1990, the 5th MASH, 44th Medical Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, deployed to Saudi Arabia and was the first fully functional Army hospital in the country. This unit moved forward six times, always as the first up hospital for the region. In March 1991, the 5th MASH was operationally attached to the 24th Infantry Division to provide forward surgical care (often right on the front battle lines) to the combat units that attacked the western flank of Iraqi army. In March 1991, the 159th MASH of the Louisiana Army National Guard operated in Iraq in support of the 3rd Armored Division during Operation Desert Storm.
2003 invasion of Iraq
On 2 April, Delta were engaged by half a dozen armed technicals from the same anti-special forces Fedayeen that had previously fought the SBS, two Delta operators were wounded (one serious), the squadron requested an urgent aero medical evacuation and immediate close-air support as a company of truck-borne Iraqi reinforcements arrived. Two MH-60K Blackhawks carrying a para jumper medical team and two MH-60L DAPs of the 160th SOAR responded and engaged the Iraqis, which allowed the Delta operators to move their casualties to an emergency HLZ and they were medevaced to H-1 escorted by a pair of A-10As, however MSG George Fernandez died. The DAPs stayed on station and continued to engage the Iraqis, destroying a truck carrying a mortar and several infantry squads, whilst Delta snipers killed Iraqi infantryman firing on the DAPs, another pair of A-10As arrived and dropped airburst 500 lb bombs within 20m of Delta positions and killed a large number of Iraqi infantry gathering in a wadi. The DAPs engaged spotted several Iraqi units and engaged them until they were dangerously low on fuel.
Operation Houndsworth
The men involved in Operation Houndsworth were part of the Special Air Service Brigade. The Special Air Service (SAS) was a unit of the British Army during the Second World War, formed in July 1941 by David Stirling and originally called "L" Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade"L" being an attempt at deception implying the existence of numerous such units. It was conceived as a commando type force to operate behind enemy lines in the North African Campaign In 1944 the Special Air Service Brigade was formed and consisted of the British 1st and 2nd Special Air Service, the French 3rd and 4th Special Air Service and the Belgian 5th Special Air Service. They were to undertake parachute operations behind the German lines in France, and then carry out operations supporting the Allied advance through Belgium, the Netherlands, and eventually into Germany.
History of the Special Air Service
De la Billière and the commander of UKSF for Operation Granby planned to convince Schwarzkopf of the need for special operations forces with the rescue of a large number of Western and Kuwaiti civilian workers being held by Iraqi forces as human shields, but in December 1990, Saddam Hussein released the majority of the hostages, however the situation brought the SAS to Schwarzkopf's attention. Having already allowed US Army Special Forces and Marine Force Recon to conduct long-range reconnaissance missions, he was eventually convinced to allow the SAS to also deploy a handful of reconnaissance teams to monitor the Main Supply Routes (MSRs).
2003 invasion of Iraq
The Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr was the first British obstacle. A joint Polish-British-American force ran into unexpectedly stiff resistance, and it took several days to clear the Iraqi forces out. Farther north, the British 7 Armoured Brigade ("The Desert Rats"), fought their way into Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, on 6 April, coming under constant attack by regulars and Fedayeen, while 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment cleared the 'old quarter' of the city that was inaccessible to vehicles. Entering Basra was achieved after two weeks of fierce fighting, including a tank battle when the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards destroyed 14 Iraqi tanks on 27 March. A few members of D Squadron, British SAS, were deployed to southern Iraq to support the coalition advance on Basra, the team conducted forward route reconnaissance and infiltrated the city and brought in strikes on the Ba'athist loyalist leadership.
History of the Special Air Service
Operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda and other terrorists groups in Afghanistan began in October 2001. In mid-October 2001, A and G squadron of 22 SAS, reinforced by members of the 21 and 23 SAS (at the time D squadron was SP duty, while B squadron was overseas on a long-term training exercise) deployed to northwestern Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan under the command of CENTCOM. They conducted largely uneventful reconnaissance tasks under the codename Operation Determine, none of these tasks resulted in enemy contact; they travelled in Land Rover Desert Patrol Vehicles (known as Pinkies) and modified ATVs. After a fortnight and with missions drying up, both squadrons returned to their barracks in the UK. After political intersession with Prime minister Tony Blair, the SAS were given a direct-action task – the destruction of an al-Qaeda-linked opium plant in southern Afghanistan, their mission was codenamed Operation Trent. Both A and G squadron successfully completed the mission in 4 hours with only 4 soldiers wounded, it marked the regiments first wartime HALO parachute jump and the operation was the largest British SAS operation in history. Following Operation Trent, the SAS were deployed on uneventful reconnaissance tasks in the Dasht-e Margo desert before returning to Hereford in mid-December 2001; however, small numbers of Territorial SAS from both regiments remained in the country to provide close protection for members of MI6. One newspaper fuelled myth was that a British SAS squadron was at the Battle of Tora Bora, in fact, the only UKSF involved in the Battle was the SBS.
Operation Trent
Operation Trent was an operation by Special Air Service (SAS) elements of the British Army, the largest known post-WWII operation in SAS history. The operation was carried out by members of A Squadron (A Sqn) and G Squadron (G Sqn) of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS), supported by United States (US) forces, on an al-Qaeda-linked opium plant during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan at the start of Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A).
History of the Special Air Service
In 2002 the SAS was involved in operations in the Kwaja Amran mountain range in Ghazni Province and the Hada Hills near Spin Boldak, inserting by helicopter at night, storming villages and grabbing suspects for interrogation. During the period of Operation Jacana, a large proportion of the SAS contingent in Afghanistan fell victim to illness that affected hundreds of other British troops at Bagram Airfield, many had to be quarantined.
2003 invasion of Iraq
British troops, in what was codenamed Operation (or Op) TELIC participated in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The 1st Armoured Division was deployed to the Gulf and commanded British forces in the area, securing areas in southern Iraq, including the city of Basra during the invasion. A total of 46,000 troops of all the British services were committed to the operation at its start, including some 5,000 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary sailors and 4,000 Royal Marines, 26,000 British Army soldiers, and 8,100 Royal Air Force airmen. The British special forces deployment was codenamed Operation Row and were known as Task Force 7 under Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-West (Task Force Dagger).
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency
The USAFSS became involved in the Vietnam War when the Pacific Air Forces asked it to establish an Air Force Special Security Office at Tan Son Nhut Airport near Saigon in 1961. By the following year, a USAFSS squadron and three subordinate detachments were operating in Vietnam and Thailand, and USAFSS personnel supported College Eye threat warning operations. USAFSS crews also flew on Douglas EC-47 Skytrain missions to search for aircrew shot down in North Vietnam and additional SAC RC-135s deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan.
History of the Special Air Service
After Oman 22 SAS Regiment were recalled to the United Kingdom, the first time the regiment had served in there since their formation. They were initially barracked in Malvern Worcestershire before moving to Hereford in 1960. Just prior to this the third SAS regiment was formed and like 21 SAS was part of the Territorial Army. 23 SAS Regiment was formed by the renaming of the Joint Reserve Reconnaissance Unit, which itself had succeeded MI.9 via a series of units (POW Rescue, Recovery and Interrogation Unit, Intelligence School 9 and the Joint Reserve POW Intelligence Organisation) Behind this change was the understanding that passive networks of escape lines had little place in the cold war world and henceforth personnel behind the lines would be rescued by specially trained units.
Special Activities Division
SAD paramilitary teams entered Iraq before the 2003 invasion. Once on the ground they prepared the battle space for the subsequent arrival of U.S. military forces. SAD teams then combined with U.S. Army special forces (on a team called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element or NILE). This team organized the Kurdish Peshmerga for the subsequent U.S. led invasion. This joint team combined in Operation Viking Hammer to defeat Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist group allied to al-Qaeda, which several battle-hardened fighters from Afghanistan had joined after the fall of the Taliban, in a battle for control over the northeast of Iraq – a battle that turned out being one of the "most intense battles of Special Forces since Vietnam". This battle was for an entire territory that was completely occupied by Ansar al-Islam and was executed prior to the invasion in February 2003. If this battle had not been as successful as it was, there would have been a considerable hostile force in the rear of the U.S./secular Kurdish force in the subsequent assault on the Iraqi army to the south. The U.S. side was represented by paramilitary operations officers from SAD/SOG and the army's 10th Special Forces Group (10th SFG). 10th SFG soldiers were awarded three Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars with V for valor for this battle alone and several paramilitary officers were awarded the Intelligence Star for valor in combat. This battle was a significant direct attack and victory on a key U.S. opponent. It resulted in the deaths of a substantial number of militants and the uncovering of a crude laboratory that had traces of poisons and information on chemical weapons at Sargat. The team found foreign identity cards, visas, and passports on the enemy bodies. They had come from a wide variety of Middle Eastern and north African countries including Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Tunisia, Morocco, and Iran. Sargat was also the only facility that had traces of chemical weapons discovered in the Iraq war.
List of operations conducted by Delta Force
On October 31, 2003, Delta Force assisted A Squadron, SAS, in Operation Abalone: US intelligence had traced a Sudanese jihadist – who was believed to be facilitating the arrival of Islamist terrorists into Iraq – to 4 compounds/dwellings on the outskirts of Ramadi. Delta Force operators successfully assaulted their 2 target buildings, whilst the SAS assaulted the other two dwellings. A group of Delta operators provided night-vision and vehicle-mounted weapon support if needed. After securing the first of their target buildings, the SAS assault stalled when assaulting their final target building and took casualties. A platoon of M2A3 Bradley IFVs subsequently "pummeled" the house with gunfire, and Delta Force units then assaulted the building, killing several terrorists inside, and helping to bring the operation to a successful conclusion. The operation is believed to have killed the Sudanese jihadist, along with a dozen other insurgents. A total of 4 foreign insurgents were captured by the SAS, thereby providing some of the first actual proof to the existence of an internationalist jihadist movement in Iraq.
Secret Intelligence Service
Shortly before the Second Battle of Fallujah, MI6 personnel visited JSOCs TSF (Temporary Screening Facility) at Balad to question a suspected insurgent, afterwards they raised concern about the poor detention conditions there and as a result the British government informed JSOC in Iraq that prisoners captured by British special forces would only turn them over to JSOC if there was an undertaking not to send them to Balad. In Spring 2005, the SAS detachment operating in Basra and southern Iraq, known as Operation Hathor, escorted MI6 "case" officers into Basra so they could meet their sources and handlers and MI6 provided information that enabled the detachment to carryout surveillance operations. MI6 were also involved in resolving the Basra prison incident; the SIS played a central role in the British withdrawal from Basra in 2007.
No. 9 Squadron RAF
Under the command of Wing Commander Derek Watson, the squadron formed a part of the RAF contribution to the 2003 Iraq War (Operation Telic). Nos. II(AC), IX(B), XIII, 31 and 617 Squadrons contributed to Tornado GR4 Wing 1 based at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait. IX(B) Squadron suffered its only loss of the war on 23 March 2003 when one of their aircraft was engaged by a Patriot battery in Kuwait while returning from a mission. The pilot and navigator were both killed. Immediately after the incident it was claimed that the RAF crew had failed to switch on their IFF beacon. However a US journalist embedded with the U.S. Army unit operating the Patriot battery said the "army Patriots were mistakenly identifying friendly aircraft as enemy tactical ballistic missiles."
Secret Intelligence Service
In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it is alleged, although not confirmed, that some SIS conducted Operation Mass Appeal which was a campaign to plant stories about Iraq's WMDs in the media. The operation was exposed in "The Sunday Times" in December 2003. Claims by former weapons inspector Scott Ritter suggest that similar propaganda campaigns against Iraq date back well into the 1990s. Ritter says that SIS recruited him in 1997 to help with the propaganda effort. "The aim was to convince the public that Iraq was a far greater threat than it actually was." Towards the end of the invasion, SIS agents operating out of Baghdad international airport with Special Air Service (SAS) protection, began to re-establish a station in Baghdad and began gathering intelligence; in particular on WMDs, after it became clear that Iraq did not possess any WMDs, MI6 had to officially withdraw pre-invasion intelligence about them. In the months after the invasion, they also began gathering political intelligence; predicting what would happen in post-Baathist Iraq. MI6 personnel in the country never exceed 50; in early 2004, apart from supporting Task Force Black in hunting down former senior Ba'athist party members, MI6 also made an effort to target "transnational terrorism"/jihadist network that led to the SAS carrying out Operation Aston in February 2004: They conducted a raid on a house in Baghdad that was part of a 'jihadist pipeline' that ran from Iran to Iraq that US and UK intelligence agencies were tracking suspects on – the raid captured members of Pakistan based terrorist group.
List of SAS operations
Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Special Air Service
The first documented action abroad by the CRW wing was assisting the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9 at Mogadishu. In 1980, the SAS were involved in a dramatic hostage rescue during the Iranian Embassy Siege.
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
On 25 June, a U.S. airstrike near Mosul killed 2 senior ISIS commanders: one was Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, ISIS' deputy minister of war, who oversaw ISIS' efforts to capture Mosul in June 2014 and consolidated ISIL's control over Mosul, he also led the ISIL Jaysh al-Dabiq battalion known for using vehicle-borne IEDs, suicide bombers and mustard gas in its attacks. The other was Hatim Talib al-Hamduni, a military commander in the area and head of military police for self-proclaimed Ninawa state; together, they engaged in dictatorial rule and sectarian murder and oppression since 2014.
Michael Asher (explorer)
In 2000, Asher was commissioned to go to Iraq with a film crew to investigate the story of the SAS patrol, Bravo Two Zero, celebrated in the popular books of two of its members, Steven Mitchell and Colin Armstrong, under the pseudonyms Andy McNab and Chris Ryan. Following in the patrol's footsteps in the Iraqi desert, Asher interviewed many eyewitnesses in Arabic, whose testimony cast doubt on the authors' sensationalised accounts.
History of the Special Air Service
The SAS's early successes led to increasing paranoia within Republican circles, as the PIRA hunted for informers they felt certain were in their midst. On 2 May 1980 Captain Herbert Westmacott, became the highest-ranking member of the SAS to be killed in Northern Ireland. He was in command of an eight-man plain clothes SAS patrol that had been alerted by the Royal Ulster Constabulary that an IRA gun team had taken over a house in Belfast. A car carrying three SAS men went to the rear of the house, and another car carrying five SAS men went to the front of the house. As the SAS arrived at the front of the house the IRA unit opened fire with an M60 machine gun, hitting Captain Westmacott in the head and shoulder killing him instantly. The remaining SAS men at the front returned fire, but were forced to withdraw. One member of the IRA team was apprehended by the SAS at the rear of the house, preparing the unit's escape in a transit van, while the other three IRA members remained inside the house. More members of the security forces were deployed to the scene, and after a brief siege the remaining members of the IRA unit surrendered. After his death Westmacott was posthumously awarded the Military Cross. for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980. Some sources say that the terrorists waved a white flag before the siege in an attempt to trick the SAS patrol into thinking they were surrendering.
Artists Rifles
In mid-October 2001, members of 21 SAS and 23 SAS deployed to Afghanistan as reinforcements of two squadrons of 22 SAS, for Operation Determine, during the 2001 coalition invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime and destroy and dismantle al-Qaeda in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
1st SAS Brigade
In the summer of 1941, when David Stirling was pitching his idea for a dedicated airborne commando unit (which later evolved into the Special Air Service) he obtained Clarke's support partly by promising to use the SAS name. From late 1942, Clarke used the 1st SAS in his major order of battle deception (codenamed Operation Cascade). The brigade formed part of the fictional 4th Airborne Division; between then and the end of the war it was used to mislead Axis commanders about the strength of Allied forces in North Africa, and as part of several specific tactical deceptions.
10th Special Forces Group (United States)
Affiliated for operations with Special Operations Command – Europe, 10th Group is continuing to conduct Joint Combined Exchange Training and FID/anti-terrorist operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara.
Such activities have included training the Military of Mali and the Military of Mauritania. The 1st and 3rd Battalions of 10th Group also participated in training in Senegal in 2006, along with the 352d Special Operations Group of the US Air Force. 10th SFG(A) has also deployed numerous times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, but mostly to Iraq, since the start of the War on Terrorism. 10th SFG(A) and CIA's Special Activities Division Paramilitary Officers were the first to enter Iraq prior to the invasion. They organized the Kurdish Peshmerga to defeat Ansar al-Islam, an ally of al-Qa'ida, for control of a territory in Northeastern Iraq that was completely under Ansar al-Islam's control. This battle, one of the most important engagements for Special Forces since Vietnam, led to the elimination of a substantial number of terrorists and the discovery of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat (the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war). Three Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars for valor were conferred for this engagement. These terrorists would have been part of the subsequent insurgency had they not been eliminated during this battle, which could be called the Tora Bora of Iraq. While several key leaders escaped into Iran, it was a sound defeat for al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam. The Americans then led the Peshmerga against Saddam's northern Army. This effort kept Saddam's forces, including 13 Armored Divisions, in the north and denied them the ability to redeploy to contest the invasion force coming from the south. This effort likely saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of coalition service members.
United States invasion of Afghanistan
In mid-October 2001, A and G squadron of the British 22nd SAS Regiment, reinforced by members of the Territorial SAS regiments, deployed to north west Afghanistan in support of OEF-A. They conducted largely uneventful reconnaissance tasks under the codename Operation Determine, none of these tasks resulted in enemy contact; they travelled in Land Rover Desert Patrol Vehicles (known as Pinkies) and modified ATVs. After a fortnight and with missions drying up both squadrons returned to their barracks in the UK.
Republic of Ireland
Despite Irish neutrality during World War II, Ireland had more than 50,000 participants in the war through enlistment in the British armed forces. During the Cold War, Irish military policy, while ostensibly neutral, was biased towards NATO. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Seán Lemass authorised the search of Cuban and Czechoslovak aircraft passing through Shannon and passed the information to the CIA. Ireland's air facilities were used by the United States military for the delivery of military personnel involved in the 2003 invasion of Iraq through Shannon Airport. The airport had previously been used for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, as well as the First Gulf War.
Military history of Australia
Australian forces later joined British and American forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The initial contribution was also a modest one, consisting of just 2,058 personnel—codenamed Operation Falconer. Major force elements included special forces, rotary and fixed wing aviation and naval units. Army units included elements from the SASR and 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando), a CH-47 Chinook detachment and a number of other specialist units. RAN units included the amphibious ship and the frigates and , while the RAAF deployed 14 F/A-18 Hornets from No. 75 Squadron, a number of AP-3C Orions and C-130 Hercules. The Australian Special Forces Task Force was one of the first coalition units forces to cross the border into Iraq, while for a few days, the closest ground troops to Baghdad were from the SASR. During the invasion the RAAF also flew its first combat missions since the Vietnam War, with No. 75 Squadron flying a total of 350 sorties and dropping 122 laser-guided bombs.
Michael Wilkes
Wilkes was commissioned in to the Royal Artillery in 1961. In 1977 he took command of 22 SAS Regiment at the age of 36. The regiment had been given a new role in counter-terrorism. The training instituted involved hostage situations, negotiations with those making demands, and assaults when it was judged that talks had broken down. 
Under Wilkes’s leadership, the regiment became adept at responding rapidly to the different tactics employed by terrorists. He also set up a robust liaison system linking the SAS commander to the police, the security services and the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (Cobra). In an increasingly turbulent world, other countries began to request help from Britain in developing their own specialised units to counter terrorism and to provide VIP protection. Then, in October 1977, a Lufthansa Boeing 737 on its way from Majorca to Frankfurt with some 90 passengers and crew was hijacked by terrorists armed with guns and explosives. The Germans asked the SAS for help and Wilkes dispatched a small team to offer advice to GSG 9, their anti-terrorist squad. The aircraft was stormed successfully at Mogadishu, Somalia, and the hostages freed. The operation gave added impetus to the expansion of training and organisation for anti-terrorist tasks by the regiment. Wilkes moved on in 1979, but the decisive intervention by the SAS in the Iranian Embassy siege in May the following year by Michael Rose (British Army officer) was convincing evidence of the value of his legacy. He served as Commanding Officer of 22 SAS
History of the Special Air Service
Meanwhile, A and D squadron mobile patrols were tracking down SCUDs and destroying them if possible, or vector-in strike aircraft. Both squadrons were equipped with six to eight Desert Patrol Vehicles (DPVs) in four mobile patrols/fighting columns. The mobile patrols used the "mothership" concept to resupply their mounted patrols, along with the DPVs, a number of cut-down Unimog and ACMAT VLRA trucks were infiltrated into the area of operations and served as mobile resupply points, themselves being stocked with fuel, ammunition and water by RAF Chinook drops, this meant that the SAS mobility patrols could effectively stay in the area of operations indefinitely. During one mission an operator reportedly destroyed a SCUD launcher with a vehicle-mounted Milan anti-tank guided missile. An Iraqi Army command-and-control site known as "Victor Two" was attacked by the SAS: SAS operators crept in to the facility and set a batch of demolition charges which were counting down to detonation when they were compromised, the SAS destroyed Iraqi bunkers with Milans and LAW rockets, operators engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Iraqi soldiers. The operators broke cover and braved enemy fire to reach their vehicles and escape before the demolition exploded. Another mounted patrol from D squadron was bedding down for the night in a desert wadi, later they discovered they were camped next to an Iraqi communications facility, they were quickly compromised by an Iraqi soldier walking to their position. A firefight erupted between the SAS and at least two regular Iraqi Army infantry platoons. The patrol managed to break contact after disabling two Iraqi technicals (pick-up trucks) that attempted to pursue them, during the chaos of the firefight a supply Unimog had been immobilised by enemy fire and left behind with no sign of the seven missing crew members. The seven SAS operators (one of whom was severely wounded) had captured a damaged Iraqi technical and drove toward the Saudi Arabian border, eventually the vehicle ground to a halt and the men were forced to travel on foot, after 5 days they reached the border.
United States Navy SEALs
During the Battle of Basra, SEALs along with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force and 539 Assault Squadron RM attempted a waterborne approach to Basra via the Shatt al-Arab waterway but were intercepted by Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol craft and did not want to engage them so they withdrew. On 6 April 2003, after relocating further up the waterway they successfully infiltrated via the waterway, using SEAL UAVs they called in "show-of-force" and an airstrike by a USMC harrier on Iraqi troops, the SEALs then headed to "Chemical Ali's" house with SSE teams to find traces of chemical weapons. SEALs carried out missions around Nasiriyah, carrying out reconnaissance on surrounding villages and engaging enemy strong points bypassed by the US Marine advance. Charlie Platoon, SEAL Team 3, later operated ahead of the Marine advance carrying out similar missions. SEAL and GROM units continued to cooperate throughout the rest of the invasion phase, with raids and anti-sniper missions in Baghdad.
List of SAS operations
Sierra Leone Civil War
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
One squadron of the British Armys 22 Special Air Service regiment were deployed to Borneo in early 1963 in the aftermath of the Brunei Revolt to gather information in the border area about Indonesian infiltration. There was a British Army presence until the end of the campaign. Faced with a border of 971 miles, they could not be everywhere, and, at this time, 22 SAS had only three squadrons. Also present were the Special Boat Service (SBS) of the Royal Marine Commandos. They had two sections based in Singapore. Tactical HQ of 22 SAS deployed to Kuching in 1964 to take control of all SAS and SBS operations. The shortage of SAS and SBS personnel was exacerbated by the need for them in South Arabia, in many ways a far more demanding task in challenging conditions against a cunning and aggressive opponent.
List of SAS operations
Immediately following the conclusion of the Second World War the SAS was disbanded; however the continued necessity for a commando unit was recognised and they were reformed again in 1947. In 1950 an SAS squadron trained to be deployed in the Korean War, however they were eventually transferred to Southeast Asia to serve in the ongoing Malayan Emergency.
John Woodhouse (British Army officer)
Woodhouse joined the SAS in 1950. The initial results for the SAS, which was founded in 1941 and active during the Second World War and in the Malayan Emergency of 1948, were not as successful as had been hoped. After a period of active service, Woodhouse was chosen to return to the United Kingdom to establish a selection process for the SAS. The rigorous systems he developed over three years provided the basis of selection and training of the modern SAS.
History of the Special Air Service
The SAS perfected desert mobility techniques during Operation Granby; it would influence US Army Special Forces during initial operations in Afghanistan and Iraq a decade later.
Special Air Service
Since serving in Malaya, men from the regular army 22 SAS Regiment have taken part in covert reconnaissance and surveillance by patrols and some larger scale raiding missions in Borneo. An operation against communist guerillas included the Battle of Mirbat in the Oman. They have also taken part in operations in the Aden Emergency, Northern Ireland, and Gambia. Their Special projects team assisted the West German counterterrorism group GSG 9 at Mogadishu. The SAS counter terrorist wing famously took part in a hostage rescue operation during the Iranian Embassy Siege in London. During the Falklands War B squadron were prepared for Operation Mikado before it was subsequently cancelled while D and G squadrons were deployed and participated in the raid on Pebble Island. Operation Flavius was a controversial operation in Gibraltar against the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). 22 SAS also directed NATO aircraft onto Serb positions and hunted war criminals in Bosnia. They were also involved in the Kosovo War helping KLA guerillas behind Serbian lines. According to Albanian sources one SAS sergeant was killed by Serbian special forces.
History of the Special Air Service
The half of B squadron in al-Jauf, Saudi Arabia, were given the task of establishing covert observation posts along the MSR in three-eight man patrols inserted by helicopter. On 22 January three eight man patrols from B Squadron were inserted behind the lines by a Chinook helicopter. Their mission was to locate Scud launchers and monitor the main supply route. One of the patrols Bravo Two Zero had decided to patrol on foot. The patrol was found by an Iraqi unit and, unable to call for help because they had been issued the wrong radio frequencies, had to try and evade capture by themselves. The team under command of Andy McNab suffered three dead and four captured; only one man, Chris Ryan, managed to escape to Syria. Ryan made SAS history with the "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier", covering more than SAS trooper John 'Jack' William Sillito, had in the Sahara Desert in 1942. The other patrols, Bravo One Zero and Bravo Three Zero, had opted to use landrovers and take in more equipment returned intact to Saudi Arabia.
History of the Special Air Service
By 2004, The various 22nd SAS regiment squadrons would be part of Task Fore Black to fight against the Iraqi Insurgency, General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Iraq, has commented on A Squadron 22 SAS Regiment when part of Task Force Black/Knight (subcomponents of Task Force 145), carried out 175 combat missions during a six-month tour of duty. In January 2004, Major James Stenner and Sergeant Norman Patterson were killed when their vehicle hit a concrete roadblock whilst driving through the Green Zone at night; the SAS's targets during this period (before it was integrated into JSOC in late 2005 to early 2006) were former Ba'athist party regime elements. By early 2005, the SAS supplemented their land rover and Snatch vehicles with M1114 Humvee's for better protection; in southern Iraq, the SAS maintained a detachment in called Operation Hathor: consisting of a handful of soldiers based with British forces in Basra. Their primary role was to protect SIS (MI6) officers and to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance for the British Battle Group. In June 2005, after Delta Force took a number of casualties during Operation Snake Eyes, McChrystal asked the UK's DSF whether UK Special Forces would be able to assist, but he declined, citing ongoing British concerns about JSOCs detention facilities and other operational issues such as rules of engagement. This caused conflict between the DSF and the then-new commander of 22 SAS, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Williams, who believed the SAS were wasting their time targeting Ba'athist regime elements and advocated for a closer relationship with JSOC, tensions between them escalated throughout the summer of 2005. Williams met with McChrystal, whom he had a good relationship with, to discuss how he could get the SAS to work more closely with Delta Force and JSOC; McChrystal met with the DSF and explained to him what JSOC was trying to do in Iraq, but the DSF questioned the tactics and in summary, strained relations further. The DSF tried to have Williams transferred, he took the case to General Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, citing a long list of grievances, but his request did not command widespread support; at the end of 2005, the DSF was replaced. Many of issues preventing the SAS and TF (Task Force) Black's integration with JSOC had been resolved by the end of 2005 and TF Black began working more closely with JSOC. By late 2005, British commanders decided that the SAS would do six month tours of duty, instead of the previous 4 month tours, it was officially confirmed in March 2006. Due to the Basra prison incident, in which the name of the UKSF forces in Iraq 'Task force Black' was leaked to the press, the force was renamed 'Task force Knight'; also in 2005, the regiment began using specially trained dogs, specifically during raids on houses in Baghdad.
History of the Special Air Service
The History of the British Army's Special Air Service or SAS regiment begins with its formation during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, and continues to the present day. It includes their early operations in North Africa, the Greek Islands, and the Invasion of Italy. They then returned to the United Kingdom and were formed into a brigade with two British, two French and one Belgian regiment. The SAS Brigade then conducted operations in France, Italy again, the Low Countries and finally into Germany.
History of the Special Air Service
Initial plans were for the SAS to carry out their traditional raiding role behind the Iraqi lines, and operate ahead of the allied invasion, disrupting lines of communications. The SAS operated from Al Jawf, on the 17 January, 128 members of A and D squadron moved to the frontline there they inserted three road-watch teams into western Iraq to establish observation of the MSR traffic On 18 January 1991, the first eight SCUD-B ballistic missiles with conventional explosive warheads fell on Tel Aviv and Haifa, Israel, it was this attempt to bring Israel into the war to undermine the coalition by shattering the coalition of Arab nations arrayed against Iraq, that was directly responsible for a dramatic increase in operations for the Regiment. On that day they were tasked with hunting Scuds. An operational area, known as "SCUD Box," covered a huge swathe of western Iraq south of main Highway 10 MSR, was allocated to the SAS and nicknamed "SCUD Alley", Delta Force deployed north of Highway 10 in "SCUD Boulevard," two flights of USAF F-15Es on "SCUD Watch" would be their main air support component. Both SAS and Delta operations were initially hampered by delays in bringing strike aircraft onto the often time sensitive targets-a problem only partially alleviated by the placing of special forces liaisons with the US Air Force in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. On 20 January, they were working behind Iraqi lines hunting for Scud missile launchers in the area south of the Amman — Baghdad highway. The patrols working on foot and in landrovers would at times carry out their own attacks, with MILAN missiles on Scud launchers and also set up ambushes for Iraqi convoys,
Bravo Two Zero
Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army SAS patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to Chris Ryan's account, the patrol was given the task of gathering intelligence, finding a good lying-up position (LUP) and setting up an observation post (OP) on the Iraqi Main Supply Route (MSR) between Baghdad and North-Western Iraq, while according to another, the task was to find and destroy Iraqi Scud missile launchers along a stretch of the MSR.
Secret Intelligence Service
Five years before the Libyan Civil War, a UK Special Forces unit was formed called E Squadron which was composed of selected members of the 22nd SAS Regiment, the SBS and the SRR. It was tasked by the Director Special Forces to support MI6's operations (akin to the CIA's SAD – a covert paramilitary unit for SIS). It was not a formal squadron within the establishment of any individual UK Special Forces unit, but at the disposal of both the Director Special Forces and the SIS; previously, SIS relied primarily on contractor personnel. The Squadron carried out missions that required 'maximum discretion' in places that were 'off the radar or considered dangerous'; the Squadron's members often operated in plain clothes, with the full range of national support, such as false identities at its disposal. In early March 2011, during the Libyan Civil War, a covert operation in Libya involving E Squadron went wrong: The aim of the mission was to cement SIS's contacts with the rebels by flying in two SIS agents in a Chinook helicopter to meet a Libyan Intermediary in a town near Benghazi, who had thereafter promised to fix them up a meeting with the NTC. A team consisting of six E Squadron members (all from the SAS) and two SIS officers were flown into Libya by an RAF Special Forces Flight Chinook; the Squadron's members were carrying bags containing arms, ammunition, explosives, computers, maps and passports from at least four nationalities. Despite technical backup, the team landed in Libya without any prior agreement with the rebel leadership, the plan failed as soon as the team landed, the locals became suspicious they were foreign mercenaries or spies and the team was detained by rebel forces and taken to a military base in Benghazi. They were then hauled before a senior rebel leader, the team told them that they were in the country to find out the rebels needs and to offer assistance, but the discovery of British troops on the ground enraged the rebels who were fearful that Gaddafi would use such evidence to destroy the credibility of the NTC. Negotiations between senior rebel leaders and British officials in London finally led to their release and they were allowed to board HMS Cumberland.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
As Prime Minister, Rasmussen strongly supported the 2003 Iraq War. As in most European countries he faced considerable opposition, both in the parliament and in the general population. Subsequent opinion polls suggested the Danish population's opinion was split on the issue. One vocal protester managed to get into the Danish parliament during the period before the war, where he poured red paint on the prime minister while yelling "Du har blod på dine hænder" (literally: "You have blood on your hands"). A member of the Danish parliament for the socialist Red-Green Alliance, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, stated that it was a reaction she might have made under the circumstances, although she later denounced such behaviour. Denmark was one of only five countries to take part in the actual invasion operations (the others being the U.S, UK, Poland and Australia) though the contingent mainly consisted of two minor warships and staff and radio units that were never involved in actual combat. In the months after the initial phase of the war, Danish troops participated in the multi-national force stationed in Iraq. Approximately 550 Danish troops were stationed in Iraq from 2004 and into 2007, first at "Camp Dannevang" and later at "Camp Einherjer", both near Basra. When the contingent of troops left around August 2007, it was not replaced and Denmark shifted its focus to non-military support around Baghdad. The official reason provided is that the Iraqi government should now be able to handle security in the Basra area. Critics of Rasmussen argued that the withdrawal was motivated by decreasing domestic support for the war.
1990 Downpatrick roadside bomb
The British Army also had success against the IRA in the same time period like the Loughgall ambush when the SAS ambushed and killed eight members of one of the IRA's most experienced units from the Tyrone Brigade. The SAS also killed three IRA members during Operation Flavius in Gibraltar when the IRA Volunteers were planning a car bomb attack against a British military band.
Operation Larchwood 4
Charlie Company of 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment (C Co 2-502) would be in reserve as the Quick reaction force (QRF) while providing a blocking position to deny enemy movement out of the area for the RAF and AAC helicopters, two American C-130's were on station: one was a command aircraft and the other was an AC-130. It was necessary for there to be a large amount of support for the SAS operation due to the heightened tension between the Iraqi people in the area and coalition troops due to the recent Mahmudiyah rape and killings incident.
2002 in Iraq
Events in the year 2002 in Iraq.The CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD) teams were the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq in July 2002, prior to the US Invasion. Once on the ground, they prepared for the subsequent arrival of US Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga. In Operation Viking Hammer, this joint team (called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE)) combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam, an ally of Al Qaeda, in the North East corner of Iraq. This battle was for control of a territory that was occupied by Ansar al-Islam and was executed prior to the invasion. It was carried out by Paramilitary Operations Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. This battle was a significant defeat of a key terrorist organization and the uncovering of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war.
Special Boat Service
In 1946, the SBS, whether of Commando or SAS parentage, were disbanded. The functional title SBS was adopted by the Royal Marines. It became part of the school of Combined Operations under the command of "Blondie" Hasler. Their first missions were in Palestine (ordnance removal) and in Haifa (limpet mine removal from ships). The SBS went on to serve in the Korean War deployed on operations along the North Korean coast as well as operating behind enemy lines destroying lines of communication, installations and gathering intelligence. It was during the Korean War that the SBS first started operating from submarines. In 1952, SBS teams were held at combat readiness in Egypt in case Gamal Abdel Nasser's revolution turned more violent than it did. The SBS were also alerted during the Suez Crisis of 1956 and coup against King Idris I of Libya (1959), but in both cases they did not see action. In 1961, SBS teams carried out reconnaissance missions during the Indonesian Confrontation (see Operation Claret). In the same year, Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait for the first time, and the SBS put a detachment at Bahrain. In 1972, the SBS and SAS came into prominence when members of a combined SBS and SAS team parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean after a bomb threat on board the cruise liner . A thorough search of the ship found no evidence of any device drawing the conclusion that it was a hoax. The SBS conducted operations in Northern Ireland during The Troubles including with submarines. In January 1975, two SBS kayak teams were inserted from HMS "Cachalot" to conduct an anti gun running operation in the area between Torr Head and Garron.
GSG 9
The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful with all of the hostages rescued. Three hijackers died, the fourth was seriously injured. Only one GSG 9 member and one flight attendant were injured. The international counter-terrorism community applauded the GSG 9 for the excellent and professional handling of the situation, as assaults on planes are considered to be one of the most difficult operations that a hostage rescue force is likely to need to do. To support the GSG 9 action, two accompanying British SAS advisers provided some newly developed flash bang grenades, but ultimately the flash bangs were never used due to the fire risk inside the aircraft cabin.Note: The majority of this unit's missions are confidential and public information is not available. Since its inception, GSG 9 has participated in over 1,500 missions, yet reportedly fired shots only on five occasions (official count, prior to the 2003 Iraq War). These occasions were Mogadishu in 1977, Bad Kleinen in 1993, Aachen in 1999 and two more missions where firearms were used to shoot dogs of the persons being arrested.
Special Boat Service
M Squadron also had a 3-month tour in early 2003. Corporal Ian Plank, an SBS member attached to the SAS was killed by Iraqi insurgents during a house-to-house search for a wanted high-ranking Islamist terrorist in an insurgent compound in Ramadi on 31 October 2003, he was the first UKSF combat casualty of the Iraq War. The SBS was also very active as part of Task Force Black, C squadron deployed to Baghdad as part of the task force in 2004, in its four-month deployment it mounted 22 raids. On 23 July 2005, M squadron, supported by troops from the SAS and US forces carried out Operation Marlborough, killing three members of AQI.
Intelligence Star
Four CIA officers received the Intelligence Star for actions in 2002 and later as part of Special Activities Division (SAD) paramilitary teams in Iraq. The SAD teams, the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq in 2002 in preparation for the March 2003 U.S. invasion, were soon joined by members of the Army's 10th Special Forces Group to form a joint team called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE). The joint team organized the Kurdish Peshmerga and defeated Ansar al-Islam, an ally of Al Qaeda, in a battle for the northeast corner of Iraq, killing many terrorists and uncovering a chemical weapons facility at Sargat., the only such facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war.
History of the Royal Military Police
On June 24, 2003, following the Invasion of Iraq, six Royal Military Police soldiers from 156 Provost Company of the 16 Air Assault Brigade were assaulted and killed by an Iraqi mob numbering several hundred at a police station in Majar al-Kabir in Southern Iraq. The town was known for banditry and lawlessness, its people insisting that they had liberated themselves from Ba'athist party occupation and did not want coalition troops there; British tactics in sweeping for weapons angered the population. Some of the soldiers were shot and others beaten to death. A couple of days after the incident, members of the British SAS arrived in the town, they then gathered intelligence on who was responsible and withdrew from the town under fire by armed Iraqis, however British military commanders discouraged the SAS from going back in and arresting those responsible.
Special Air Service Regiment
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The regiment is based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command. It has taken part in operations in Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. The SASR also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations.
Operation Trent
As A Sqn closed on the fortified positions, an SAS trooper was wounded two other SAS members dashed forward and carried him to safety, at least 12 SAS soldiers managed to penetrate the entrances to caves and trenches, killing at least 6 al-Qaeda and/or Taliban fighters. Even though they were not well trained, the Al-Qaeda fighters fought ferociously and the SAS had to fight hard to make progress, but the SAS ability to fire and manoeuvre enabled them to out-fight the terrorists. As the fighting continued, more and more fighters came out of the trenches and into the open, with a heavy fire being exchanged; one SAS officer was hit by two rounds in his ceramic plates and a third in his water bottle on his belt kit. A member of the SAS who participated in the raid said of the terrorists that "these guys were lunatics" and that "surrender was the last thing on their minds. They would run out of the front line firing. It was something out of the First World War, these were not people, proper soldiers, who could be treated with dignity. If they had a breath left in them they would be trying to shoot you so we had no choice but to kill."
History of the Special Air Service
The SAS and the SBS were deployed Sierra Leone in support of Operation Palliser against the Revolutionary United Front. They had been on stand-by to effect the relief of a British Army Major and his team of UN observers from a besieged camp in the jungle; additionally, they conducted covert reconnaissance, discovering strengths and dispositions of the rebel forces.
Ansar al-Islam
Prior to the US 2003 invasion of Iraq, Paramilitary teams from the Special Activities Division (SAD) and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group entered Iraq and cooperated with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Peshmerga to attack Ansar al-Islam. Together they launched Operation Viking Hammer in March 2003 which dealt a huge blow to the terrorist group which resulted in the deaths of a substantial number of terrorists and the uncovering of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in Iraq.
Howard Government
Following the 9/11 Al Qaeda attacks, the Howard Government initially committed SAS troops as the most high-profile part of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the international coalition invading force in the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The initial ADF commitment in Afghanistan concluded in November 2002 when the Special Air Service Task Group was withdrawn, however the Howard Government sent a new contingent to Afghanistan in 2005.
Iranian Embassy siege
The SAS had taken part in counter-insurgency operations abroad since 1945, and had trained the bodyguards of influential people whose deaths would be contrary to British interests. Thus, it was believed to be better prepared for the role than any unit in the police or elsewhere in the armed forces. The CRW Wing's first operational experience was the storming of Lufthansa Flight 181 in 1977, when a small detachment of soldiers were sent to assist GSG 9, the elite West German police unit set up after the events of 1972.
Special Air Service Regiment
The first SASR units to deploy on active service after the Vietnam War did so as part of Australian peacekeeping deployments. Small numbers of SASR personnel were involved in Operation Habitat in Turkey and Northern Iraq as medics to assist Kurdish refugees between May and June 1991. Personnel were also provided by the regiment as part of the Australian contribution to the UN Special Commission established to oversee the destruction of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction between 1991 and 2000. SASR medics deployed with some of the weapons inspection teams, and at times were also employed as drivers and for "personal protection" tasks. Several SASR signallers from 152 Signal Squadron also deployed to the Western Sahara between September 1991 and May 1994 as part of the Australian contingent there. Contrary to some reports, the SASR did not provide a security team for service in Cambodia although some SASR-qualified signals sergeants from 152 Signal Squadron were deployed as part of the Australian military contribution to the United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia (UNAMIC) and Force Communications Unit between 1991 and 1993. A small number of members of the regiment served on exchange with the British SAS and Special Boat Service (SBS) in Bosnia in the early 1990s, including a sergeant who commanded an SBS detachment in April 1993.
Special Air Service
In January 1943, Colonel Stirling was captured in Tunisia and Paddy Mayne replaced him as commander. In April 1943, the 1st SAS was reorganised into the Special Raiding Squadron under Mayne's command and the Special Boat Squadron was placed under the command of George Jellicoe. The Special Raiding Squadron fought in Sicily and Italy along with the 2nd SAS, which had been formed in North Africa in 1943 in part by the renaming of the Small Scale Raiding Force. The Special Boat Squadron fought in the Aegean Islands and Dodecanese until the end of the war. In 1944 the SAS Brigade was formed from the British 1st and 2nd SAS, the French 3rd and 4th SAS and the Belgian 5th SAS. It was tasked with parachute operations behind the German lines in France and carried out operations supporting the Allied advance through France, (Operations Houndsworth, Bullbasket, Loyton and Wallace-Hardy) Belgium, the Netherlands (Operation Pegasus), and eventually into Germany (Operation Archway). As a result of Hitler's issuing of the Commando Order on 18 October 1942, the members of the unit faced the additional danger that they would be summarily executed if ever captured by the Germans. In July 1944, following Operation Bulbasket, 34 captured SAS commandos were summarily executed by the Germans. In October 1944, in the aftermath of Operation Loyton another 31 captured SAS commandos were summarily executed by the Germans.
History of the Special Air Service
In May 2003, G squadron deployed to Iraq to replace B and D squadron at the same time they deployed around a dozen of its soldiers to Afghanistan, every 22nd SAS squadron had this deployment establishment until 2005. Also that year, it was revealed that reserve soldiers from 21 and 23 SAS Regiments were deployed, where they helped to establish a communications network across Afghanistan and also acted as liaison teams between the various political groups, NATO and the Afghan government. In spring 2005, as part of a deployment re-balance, the Director of Special Forces decided to only deploy the 22nd SAS regiment to Iraq until at least the end of operations there, whilst British special forces deployments to Afghanistan would be the responsibility of the SBS; before this, a troop from an SAS squadron deployed to Iraq would be detached and deployed to Afghanistan. In June 2008 a Land Rover transporting Corporal Sarah Bryant and SAS reserve soldiers Corporal Sean Reeve and Lance Corporals Richard Larkin and Paul Stout hit a mine in Helmand province, killing all four. In October Major Sebastian Morley, their commander in Afghanistan, resigned over what he described as "gross negligence" on the part of the Ministry of Defence that contributed to the deaths of four British troops under his command. Morley stated that the MoD's failure to properly equip his troops with adequate equipment forced them to use lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers to travel around Afghanistan. SAS reservists were withdrawn from frontline duty in 2010. In December 2016, "ABC news" reported that the DEA's FAST (Foreign-Deployed Advisory Support Teams) teams initially operated in Afghanistan alongside the SAS to destroy small opium processing labs in remote areas of southern Afghanistan.
23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve)
During June 2008, three soldiers from 23 were killed by the explosion of a landmine their vehicle had triggered, while they were within Helmand province. The reservists were involved in the training the Afghan National Police (OMLT), during the "War in Afghanistan (2001–present)", there were also elements of the Regiment performing "tier 1 operational duties" during this period, within Iraq. Post Afghanistan, a report found that the SAS(R) lacked a clearly defined role.
Battle of Al Faw (2003)
An AC-130 guided in the RAF Chinook helicopters carrying the Commando's from 40 Commando, the helicopter insertion was successful and the Commandos secured the MSS and the pipelines, whilst assaulting buildings at the MSS, the Commandos killed 2 Iraqi soldiers. Resistance was light: D company came under sporadic fire from an Iraqi Bunker, two 1000 and 500-pound bombs released from an F-18 as well as 40mm and 105mm shells from an AC-130 destroyed the bunker. The Iraqi POW's captured by the SEALs were given over to the commandos. The MSG moved out to the town of al-Faw to take control of its access points, on the way, they attacked two Iraqi-occupied trenches and a gatehouse, the firefight lasted for an hour eventually securing the position, with the support of the AC-130, the MSG killed 8 Iraqi soldiers and capturing 25. There were still a further 200 Iraqi soldiers in other trenches and they began calling in mortars on the MSS, AC-130 gunfire silenced the mortars and demoralised the Iraqi's; B company was locked in a sporadic firefight with an Iraqi bunker, which they eventually cleared, whilst A company assaulted an Iraqi-occupied trench, bunker and mortar position with AC-130 support, killing the occupants. D company neutralized another Iraqi bunker with naval gun fire; without taking any casualties, 40 Commando took over 200 Iraqi prisoners.
Special Air Service Regiment
Yet some members of the SASR continued to operate in Iraq over the next few years in a number of roles. In 2004 claims appeared in the media that Australian special forces were involved in counter-insurgency operations inside Iraq, although this was denied by the government. An SASR team was deployed to Iraq in May and June 2005 as part the effort to free Douglas Wood, an Australian engineer kidnapped in Baghdad; however, he was later recovered alive by US and Iraqi forces. In 2007, British media reports suggested that SASR elements were still operating in Iraq, along the southern border with Iran, targeting arms smugglers. Later, a small number of SASR personnel were deployed to Iraq in June 2014 to protect the Australian embassy when the security of Baghdad was threatened by the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, while others were reported to have been tasked with providing security to Royal Australian Air Force aircrew aboard transport aircraft delivering arms and munitions to forces in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq during September 2014.
Royal Danish Army
Denmark lost its first soldier in Iraq on 17 August 2003: Preben Pedersen a 34-year-old Lance Corporal with the Jutland Dragoon Regiment became the first coalition soldier not from the United States or Britain to die in the Iraq War. Starting in 2001, the Royal Danish Army has also been involved in the War in Afghanistan. For the past few years, the Royal Danish Army and the British Army have been involved in heavy clashes with the Taliban in the Helmand Province, where about 760 Danish soldiers control a large battlegroup. The Danish army withdrew its combat forces from Afghanistan in May 2014. After the Afghan National Army took responsibility for the security in Afghanistan in 2015, the Danish Army, has provided training, advisory and security support as part of Resolute Support Mission.
History of Australia since 1945
The Howard Government committed troops to the Afghanistan War (with bi-partisan support) and the Iraq War (meeting with the disapproval of other political parties). SAS troops formed the most high-profile part of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the invading force in the 2001 United States war in Afghanistan. A small number of Australians, including David Hicks, were captured in and around the Afghan Theatre having spent time training or fighting with Al-Qaeda aligned Islamist paramilitaries. Islamists following the Al-Qaeda modus operandi bombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 and killed 88 Australian civilians. The following year, the Iraq War was launched by a U.S.-British led coalition to overthrow the Saddam Hussein government of Iraq for its non-compliance with the 1991 Gulf War Peace Treaty. Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted until 2009 and was highly controversial. Following the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at the hands of US forces in May 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that Australian forces would remain in Afghanistan and said that Bin Laden's death offered a "small measure of justice" to the families of the 105 Australians who been killed in Al-Qaeda attacks in New York, Bali, London and Mumbai since the commencement of the conflict. As of May 2011, a further 24 Australian military personnel had been killed while serving in the Afghanistan conflict (including one with the British Armed Forces).
Lockheed C-130 Hercules in Australian service
From late 2001, Hercules began flying into Afghanistan to support the SAS squadron deployed as part of Operation Slipper, Australia's contribution to the War in Afghanistan. Five Hercules of Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons joined relief efforts following the Bali Bombings in October 2002. In February 2003, a detachment of Hercules from No. 36 Squadron was deployed to the Middle East as part of the Australian contribution to the invasion of Iraq. These aircraft arrived on 10 February, and began flying transport sorties twelve days later. The C-130s were the main form of transport used to move Australian personnel and equipment in the theatre before and after the outbreak of fighting on 19 March. During the invasion the Hercules supported SAS operations in western Iraq, one being the first Coalition aircraft to land at Al Asad Airbase after it was secured by special forces personnel on 12 April. The C-130s transported supplies and equipment to airstrips in southern Iraq to support the operations of US and British forces. As the first phase of the war wound down, Australian Hercules flew medical supplies into Baghdad shortly after the city was captured. A rotating detachment of three Hercules was subsequently maintained in the Middle East to support the ongoing Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan, as well as the forces stationed in Iraq. The aircraft assigned to this detachment amassed a total of 20,000 operational flying hours by March 2010. An American contractor travelling on an Australian C-130 in Iraq was killed on 27 June 2004 when the aircraft was struck by gunfire shortly after it took off from Baghdad.
RAAF C-130s continued to support operations in and around Australia during the early 2000s. During April 2003 a C-130 formed part of the force that tracked the North Korean freighter "Pong Su" before it was boarded by special forces personnel off the coast of New South Wales. No. 36 Squadron Hercules took part in Operation Sumatra Assist in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami; the aircraft were initially used to fly supplies into the badly damaged city of Banda Aceh. Hercules flew Australian forces into East Timor during May 2006 after the government of that country requested assistance to quell a military mutiny and widespread violence. In July that year one of the C-130s deployed to the Middle East was sent to Cyprus, where it picked up Australians who had been evacuated from Lebanon following Israeli air raids and flew them to Turkey.
Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War
According to journalist Sean Rayment for the "Telegraph", TF Black removed or killed 3,500 terrorists in Baghdad prior to 2008. Rayment wrote that these killings "reduced bombings in Baghdad from about 150 a month to just two." In October 2004, all SAS personnel in Iraq including Task Force Black were banned from handing over suspects to the US forces if the suspects were going to be taken to a US interrogation center, because of the bad reputation of the centers. Another setback for the task force was during the Second Battle of Fallujah when the SAS was banned from going into the city alongside its American counterpart because of the pressure that the government was feeling from the unpopularity of the war. In 2007, when JSOC began conducting CII (Counter Iranian Influence) missions, the UK government ordered that Iranian nationals should not be taken by Task Force Knight and they excluded them from certain intelligence gathering missions measures being taken to prepare for possible strikes against Iran. Following an SAS takedown operation of Qais Khazali - a senior Shia militant and Iranian proxy in Basra and his brother: Laith al-Khazali and his Ali Mussa Daqduq a Hezbollah advisor, turned out to be the Task Force most significant action of Operation Crichton. They also found critical documents: one was a report on the Karbala raid which identified Azhar al-Dulaimi as being responsible for it, he was eventually killed by US forces; the Karbala memo also indicated that Iran's Quds Force was approved the attack. there were Memos to about attacks on British forces in Basra and large financial payments based on performance against the coalition, Daqduq revealed that he had been brought into Iraq by Quds Force leadership to be a sort-of insurgent management consultant. He also revealed that the Shia Special Groups gave reports of IED attacks and indirect fire to the Iranians as well as said Iraqi's for training in Iran. The mission made a strategic impact, Task Force 17 (a unit consisting of US Army Special Forces and elite Iraqi units conducting Counter Iranian Influence missions) stepped up its raids against Iranian targets. Operators from Task Force knight responded to 2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel, but the incident was eventually resolved. The CII missions successfully caused leader of the Mahdi Army, Muqtada al-Sadr, to flee to Iran, where in August he declared a ceasefire with the coalition.
2003 invasion of Iraq
The Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division (SAD) teams, consisting of the paramilitary operations officers and 10th Special Forces Group soldiers, were the first U.S. forces to enter Iraq, in July 2002, before the main invasion. Once on the ground, they prepared for the subsequent arrival of U.S. Army Special Forces to organize the Kurdish Peshmerga. This joint team (called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element (NILE)) combined to defeat Ansar al-Islam, a group with ties to al-Qaeda, in Iraqi Kurdistan. This battle was for control of the territory that was occupied by Ansar al-Islam. It was carried out by Paramilitary Operations Officers from SAD and the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. This battle resulted in the defeat of Ansar and the capture of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat. Sargat was the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war.
History of the Special Air Service
Since the beginning of 2016, the SAS was deployed to Libya during Libyan Civil War (2014–present), along with other UK Special forces, they have been escorting teams of MI6 agents to meet with Libyan officials and organise the supplying weapons and training to the Libyan army and to militias fighting against ISIL.
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
On 3 May 2016, Special Warfare Operator 1st Class ; a U.S. Navy SEAL, was killed by small arms fire during an ISIS assault on a Peshmerga position, approximately 3 to 5 kilometers behind enemy lines, near the town of Tel Skuf, 28–30 km north of Mosul, the SEAL killed was part of a 30-man SEALs unit deployed to Iraq as part of a special forces advise and assist mission. 125 ISIS militants broke into the position using three truck bombs followed by bulldozers which cleared the wreckage away, the U.S. responded with 11 aircraft; F-15s F-16s, A-10s, B-52s and 2 drones carrying out 31 airstrikes; which destroyed two more truck bombs stopping the attack, 58 militants were killed and more than 20 of their vehicles were also destroyed, Keating was part of a Navy SEAL quick reaction force called in by the Peshmerga. The IS attack is part of their attacks on multiple fronts overnight to obtain new ground, Iraqi military sources said that special forces had foiled an attack by five suicide bombers in the village of Khirbirdan and Peshmerga forces repelled an IS assault on Wardak. U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren labeled the offensive as one of the most complex battlefield operations launched by ISIS since December 2015.
History of the Special Air Service
Their first home deployment came on 7 January 1975, when an Iranian armed with a replica pistol hijacked a British Airways BAC One-Eleven landed at Stansted Airport, the hijacker was captured alive with no shots fired, the only casualty was an SAS soldier who was bitten by a police dog as he left the airliner. They also deployed during the Balcombe Street Siege, where the Metropolitan Police had trapped a PIRA unit. Hearing on the BBC that the SAS were being deployed the PIRA men surrendered.
5th Special Forces Group (United States)
During Operation Iraqi Freedom 5th SFG(A) assisted in the capture of Saddam Hussein and was deployed throughout Iraq as part of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP). 5th Group teamed up with various National Guard support groups from many different states: Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin and others.During ten years of service in the Vietnam War, eighteen Special Forces soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for conspicuous gallantry and exceptional heroism under fire.In total, members of the Special Forces earned the following number of awards:* 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Mike Team B55 conducted seek and destroy missions during January – February 1969 in the Rung Sat Special Zone (RSSZ), an area about 20 miles south-southeast of Saigon and under operational command of the US and Vietnamese Navies.
Tony Blair
Blair ordered Operation Barras, a highly successful SAS/Parachute Regiment strike to rescue hostages from a Sierra Leone rebel group. Historian Andrew Marr has argued that the success of ground attacks, real and threatened, over air strikes alone was influential on how Blair planned the Iraq War, and that the success of the first three wars Blair fought "played to his sense of himself as a moral war leader". When asked in 2010 if the success of Palliser may have "embolden[ed] British politicians" to think of military action as a policy option, General Sir David Richards admitted there "might be something in that".
From the start of the War on Terror in 2001, Blair strongly supported the foreign policy of George W. Bush, participating in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. The invasion of Iraq was particularly controversial, as it attracted widespread public opposition and 139 of Blair's own MPs opposed it.
History of the Special Air Service
After the war the SAS were disbanded only to be reformed as a Territorial Army regiment, which then led onto the formation of the regular army 22 SAS Regiment. The new regiment has taken part in most of the United Kingdom's small wars since then. However the Ministry of Defence does not comment on special forces matters, therefore little verifiable information exists in the public domain on the regiment's recent activities.
List of SAS operations
Iranian Embassy Siege
Falklands War
Royal Australian Regiment
The regiment had only a minor role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, providing a force element of about 40 Commandos from 4 RAR to support the Special Forces Task Group, which was based on an SASR Squadron. Following the invasion, the deteriorating security situation in Baghdad saw the deployment of a combined arms Security Detachment (SECDET), charged with protecting the Australian embassy and its personnel. Over a dozen companies of the regiment provided force elements to the various rotations. In February 2005 Prime Minister John Howard committed a battle group to southern Iraq to partially replace a Dutch unit that had been operating in the Governorate of Al Muthanna. The regiment's contribution to the first battle group, initially known as the Al Muthanna Task Group, was a rifle company, although the second and third rotations were led by 5/7 RAR and 2 RAR respectively. When Provincial Iraqi Control was declared in Al Muthanna in July 2006, AMTG 3, led by 2 RAR, was renamed the Overwatch Battle Group (West) (OBG(W)). The fifth battle group to serve in Iraq was based on 5 RAR, by which time OBG(W) was operating in both the Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar Governorates as a part of the British Multi-National Division South East (MND(SE)). (AMTG 1, OBG(W) 2 and OBG(W) 4 were all based on cavalry regiment headquarters). During this time elements of the regiment conducted counterinsurgency operations until withdrawn in mid-2008. Casualties in Iraq included one member of the regiment who was accidentally killed.
Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War
After a change of DSF and improvement of the JSOCs TSF in late 2005 Task Force Black began to integrate more closely with JSOC. In mid-January 2006, the British SAS began Operation Traction: which was its secret upgrade/integration into JSOC, they deployed TGHG (Task Group Headquarters Group): this included senior officers and other senior members of SAS - to JSOCs base at Balad. This upgrade now meant that the SAS were "joined at the hip" with JSOC and it gave the SAS a pivotal role against Sunni militant groups, particularly AQI In early 2006, Task Force Black was involved in the release of three hostages working for Christian Peacemaker Teams as part of Operation Lightwater. With the aim of finding the hostages, the operation involved raiding houses and arresting suspects almost every day and night until sufficient intelligence was gathered on the whereabouts of the hostages. The total number of building raids amounted to 50, 44 of them being by British special forces including a total detained 47 people. In April 2006, B squadron SAS launched Operation Larchwood 4 the results of the gave the coalition intelligence on Zarqawi which led to his death.
History of the Special Air Service
The SAS conducted a large number of operations officially called "OP/React": acting on information provided by a range of sources, including informers and technical intelligence; The Det, MI5 and the RUC's E4a surveillance unit would target and track ASU terrorists until a terrorist operation was thought to be imminent; at that point the SAS were handed control and would plan an arrest operation, if the terrorists were armed and did not comply they were engaged. In December 1984, an SAS team killed two ASU terrorists who were attempting to assassinate a reserve soldier outside a hospital he worked at. In February 1985, 3 SAS operators killed 3 ASU terrorists in Strabane, the terrorists were tasked with attacking a RUC Land Rover with anti-tank grenades, having failed to find a suitable target they were visiting a weapons cache to store their weapons. There was considerable media speculation during the troubles allegations of so-called "shoot-to-kill" policy by the SAS, the allegations mainly focus on whether a terrorist could have been captured alive rather than killed. The PIRA never took prisoners except for the worst intentions and after the 1980 death of Captain Westmacott and the death of an SAS member in December 1984, the Regiment appeared to adopt an unofficial policy of what Mark Urban quoted SAS sources as calling "Big boys' games- big boys' rules": if you're an armed terrorist you can expect no quarter to be given.