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Special Forces
Operating in Afghanistan
by Chris Lewis
Military.com
September 27, 2001
U.S. and British special forces have been operating in Afghanistan
trying to locate Osama bin Laden, USA Today reported Friday.
Citing unidentified senior U.S. and Pakistani officials, USA Today
reported that teams of Green Berets, Navy SEALs and British SAS have
been present in Afghanistan for two weeks with orders to "capture
or kill bin Laden." The troops, working in three-to-five man
teams with support by MH-60K Pave Hawk helicopters, have not yet been
able to locate bin Laden. The article stated that the lack of "real
time" information has been a factor.
CNN also confirmed that special operations forces' presence in Afghanistan
in recent days, citing a senior Bush administration official. CNN's
report differed from USA Today's story, stating that U.S. special
forces were performing "routine operations" such as reconnaissance
missions and not seeking to hunt and kidnap Osama bin Laden.
U.S. Special Forces, otherwise known as Green Berets, specialize
in working with the local population, gathering intelligence, and
training indigenous forces in unconventional warfare and counter-insurgency.
It is possible that U.S. Special Forces will make contact and ally
themselves with Taliban opposition groups such as the Northern Alliance.
The Army's Delta Force, the Navy SEAL's "DevGru",
and Great Britain's SAS are trained for and have experience in locating
and seizing enemy personnel. Delta Force is the Army's premier counter-terrorism
unit but was involved in the failed mission in Mogadishu that left
18 American soldiers dead when they went in to seize high-ranking
members of Mohamed Farrah Aidid's clan. DevGru and SAS forces were
successful in hunting down and seizing war criminals in Bosnia.
U.S. officials refused to comment publicly or give details
about military operations in the region.
For More: visit
Military.com's guide to Special Operating Forces
Copyright 2001 Military.com. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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