Saddam Catchers Hunt Bin Laden

Wednesday, February 25, 2004
The Herald

On the Afghan side, U.S. troops have been basing platoon- or company-sized units in mountain villages to help win the trust of local people and gather better intelligence on the movement of strangers along ancient smugglers' trails. While Task Force 121 was engaged in Iraq, the secret war against al Qaeda and the Taliban has been waged by relatively small numbers of British SAS and SBS troopers and about 40 soldiers from Canada's Joint Task Force Two, aided by Norwegian army mountain warfare specialists.

The top secret international commando group which tracked down Saddam Hussein is being transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan to spearhead the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Task Force 121, a 1400-strong unit drawn from the U.S. army's Delta Force, Rangers and Green Berets, U.S. navy Seals, and attached elements of British and Australian SAS and Canadian special forces, will be used as the cutting edge of an offensive aimed at netting or killing top al Qaeda fugitives.

The unit, which may be renamed before deploying on the Afghan side of the frontier with Pakistan's lawless tribal lands, is moving in because of improving intelligence on the movements of the terror network's high command.

The 11,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and a 12,000-man Pakistani army division are preparing for a "hammer and anvil" offensive from both sides of the border to trap terrorist leaders and fighters.

(More: Military.com / Military Headlines)

2004 © The Herald.

Dan