300 SAS troops already in Iraq
By Michael Smith
(Filed: 04/03/2003)
The London Telegraph
Several thousand allied special forces, including more
than 300 SAS personnel, are already operating inside
Iraq.
Anti-war protestors demonstrate as US B52 bombers move
into RAF Fairford
This suggests that, despite efforts to secure a United
Nations resolution backing force, the war has begun.
Defence sources said last night that two SAS Sabre
squadrons - about 240 men - plus more than 100 support
troops were engaged in various parts of Iraq.
The scale of the operations in the south and west is
unprecedented. British special forces did not enter
Iraq during the 1991 Gulf war until the ground
offensive began.
The men are part of joint special operations, which
include more than 4,000 American and Australian
special forces with headquarters in Qatar and bases in
Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey. Their insertion into Iraq
coincides with intensified air attacks.
Iraq said yesterday that American and British aircraft
killed six civilians and wounded 15 others in raids on
Basra but Washington said the jets had struck military
targets after coming under anti-aircraft fire.
In the Commons, the Conservatives said that the action
amounted to the "opening shots" in a new Gulf war.
Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, told MPs that there
had been "no substantial change" in activity but that
patrols in the no-fly zones now involved "a broader
range of aircraft". RAF aircraft have played only a
supporting role in the latest attacks.
Eight American B52 bombers arrived at RAF Fairford in
Gloucestershire yesterday, from where they could bomb
targets in Iraq. Mr Hoon told the Commons that he had
given permission for 14 B52s to be stationed there.
Last September RAF and US air force patrols of the
no-fly zones were turned into a de facto air war when
a raid by 106 aircraft on the H3 air base in western
Iraq signalled the start of an intensification of
attacks aimed at destroying air defences.
The Telegraph disclosed in January that a team of 35
SAS men was operating in and out of western Iraq as
part of a 100-strong allied force looking for Scud
missile launchers that could be used to attack Israel.
The special forces are now moving in and out of Iraq
virtually at will, monitoring Iraqi oilfields west of
Baghdad and in the north amid concern that Saddam
Hussein will set fire to them in the event of an
invasion.
The priority of the SAS, which is being ferried back
and forth by RAF Chinook helicopters normally based at
Odiham, Hants, has been to ascertain Iraqi troop
positions and confirm that targets selected from
satellite photographs for the first attacks in any air
war are not decoys.
The troops have also been looking for suitable holding
areas in south-western Iraq for the many Iraqi troops
who are expected to give themselves up in the early
phases of fighting.
The allied plans involve a rapid advance across
southern Iraq towards Baghdad from Kuwait and it is
feared that this could be seriously delayed by the
need to deal with large numbers of prisoners of war.
Other roles have included monitoring troop movements
in the vast desert west of Baghdad and in the north
around Saddam's home town of Tikrit, where senior
commanders expect the Iraqis to put up stiff
resistance.
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John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq:
Your enemy is not surrounding your country — your enemy is ruling your
country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be
the day of your liberation." -George W. Bush 1/29/03
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