SAS Orchestrate Attack on Terrorist Cell

From a Reuters report published on the Mirror UK. British Special Air Service (SAS) troops helped smash a suicide bomb plot against the Afghan ­government in a midnight raid on a terror hideout.


A terror gang called the Haqqanis - dubbed “the Sopranos of the Afghan War” - was about to attack senior ministers with a wave of suicide bombers and gunmen. But UK special forces helped the Afghan version of MI5 - the National Security Directorate - force their way into the Haqqani hideout at the weekend.

Four key Haqqani leaders were seized by the NDS in the operation just outside the Afghan capital as they prepared to launch the terror attack. British special forces soldiers helped plan the raid on a heavily protected compound in the Shur Bazaar area of Kabul City after a tip-off from local Afghans. After approaching the area in vehicles British troops sealed off the area, allowing the Afghan NDS to storm the building throwing stun grenades into the compound as they blasted their way in.

A source said: “The Afghan NDS have worked closely with American Special Forces and the British SBS and SAS for years now and this was a textbook operation. “It had to be planned pretty quickly because the intelligence tip-off that that the Haqqanis were about to attack came in with hours to go before the assault. “The best thing is that they were so quick and had the element of surprise so they were able to arrest key players and now they are being interrogated about future Taliban operations.”

The Afghans were able to seize suicide vests, AK-47 assault rifles, rocket launchers, hand grenades, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Also confiscated in the raid were a Pakistani “Identity card,” along with Pakistani currency and a mobile phone.

The Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan and is close to the Taliban organization. It is one of the most feared parts of the insurgency across Afghanistan, where around 8,500 British troops are fighting in Helmand Province in the south east.

The Haqqanis were set up in Afghanistan in the mid-1970s and were helped by the CIA and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency against the Soviet in the 1980s. According to US military commanders it is “the most resilient enemy network” and one of the biggest threats to the U.S.-led NATO forces and the Afghan government.

SAS troops capture Taliban commander

British Special Air Service (British Special Forces) have captured the Taliban leader thought to be responsible for the roadside bomb that killed three British soldiers last month. This article from Express.

The insurgent leader, who has not been named for operational reasons, commanded seven groups of Taliban fighters and bombers across southern Afghanistan.

The dawn raid, carried out with Afghan forces, took place in the Marjah region near Nad-e-Ali, close to the British base in Lashkar Gah.

It is believed the Taliban leader, who sources confirmed had regularly travelled between Helmand and Pakistan, had been hunted for a year after being linked to at least three other attacks.

Corporal William Savage, Fusilier Samuel Flint of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland and Private Robert Hetherington, of the 7th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, died when their Mastiff vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Helmand last month.

A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force confirmed the Taliban leader had been involved in “all stages of operations, including procuring weapons and ammunition, planning attacks and executing those plans”.

The successful operation came as British Special Forces from Task Force 42 – consisting of the SAS, SBS, Special Forces Support Group and Special Reconnaissance Regiment – increase their footprint in Helmand in an attempt to disrupt increasingly bold Taliban attacks.

Ten days ago insurgents fired rockets towards Camp Bastion from 20 miles away but no one was hurt.

A Special Forces team is trying to track them down.

Special Forces are increasingly relied upon to take the strain after regular troops cease offensive operations leading up to 2014’s withdrawal.

British troops now hold just 12 bases in Helmand.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, said: “British Special Forces fill the vacuum in Helmand. They are doing sterling work.”