Post by SAS P&P Admin on Apr 4, 2005 6:52:22 GMT -5
SAS pair freed after escape to Syria
Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday April 29, 2003
The Guardian
Two SAS soldiers held by Syria after escaping from Iraqis have been freed, it was revealed yesterday.
The pair were among 10 special forces soldiers attacked by tribesmen after being dropped by helicopter near Mosul in northern Iraq. The Iraqis captured their Land Rover and heavy weapons.
Eight were quickly extracted, but two escaped across the border into Syria where they are believed to have given themselves up to the authorities. They were released after Mike O'Brien, the Foreign Office minister, raised the case while in Syria two weeks ago.
The men were part of a team of special forces soldiers believed to be 30 to 40 strong who were dropped into northern Iraq to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage and cut off escape routes in north- west Iraq. They had split into smaller patrols when one of the patrols came under fire. Most of the team were rescued by Chinook helicopter after they made off on foot for nearby hills.
Two who were missing had made their way to Syria where they gave themselves up.
The Ministry of Defence never comments on any such operation. It came to light when the Arab television network al-Jazeera showed footage of local men parading the Land Rover on April 1. According to al-Jazeera, 10 British soldiers were killed. UK sources suggested none was killed.
The Foreign Office and the MoD refused to comment on Syria being involved, which was reported by Ha'aretz, a Jerusalem newspaper with good contacts in Israeli intelligence.
It is known that at least 200 SAS soldiers, and others from the Special Boat Service, its naval equivalent, have been in Iraq throughout the war.
They are now helping to search for prominent members of Saddam Hussein's regime, and recently captured Watban al-Tikriti, a half-brother of Saddam and a former interior minister.
Earlier, they picked out targets for US and British aircraft, secured airfields in western Iraq, and engaged in undercover operations.
The story of two SAS men - and the others involved in the mission - might compare to Bravo Two Zero, an account of an SAS patrol in the Iraqi desert in the 1991 Gulf war by its leader, Andy McNab. The MoD has since introduced strict contracts for SAS soldiers officially preventing them from saying anything about their activities.
ยท The final US soldier "missing in action" has been confirmed dead by the Pentagon, after DNA analysis of a body found by an ambushed truck. Sergeant Edward Anguiano, 24, from Texas, was in a support unit attacked near Nassiriya. Nine soldiers were killed and six taken prisoner, among them Private Jessica Lynch, who was rescued on April 1.
Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday April 29, 2003
The Guardian
Two SAS soldiers held by Syria after escaping from Iraqis have been freed, it was revealed yesterday.
The pair were among 10 special forces soldiers attacked by tribesmen after being dropped by helicopter near Mosul in northern Iraq. The Iraqis captured their Land Rover and heavy weapons.
Eight were quickly extracted, but two escaped across the border into Syria where they are believed to have given themselves up to the authorities. They were released after Mike O'Brien, the Foreign Office minister, raised the case while in Syria two weeks ago.
The men were part of a team of special forces soldiers believed to be 30 to 40 strong who were dropped into northern Iraq to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage and cut off escape routes in north- west Iraq. They had split into smaller patrols when one of the patrols came under fire. Most of the team were rescued by Chinook helicopter after they made off on foot for nearby hills.
Two who were missing had made their way to Syria where they gave themselves up.
The Ministry of Defence never comments on any such operation. It came to light when the Arab television network al-Jazeera showed footage of local men parading the Land Rover on April 1. According to al-Jazeera, 10 British soldiers were killed. UK sources suggested none was killed.
The Foreign Office and the MoD refused to comment on Syria being involved, which was reported by Ha'aretz, a Jerusalem newspaper with good contacts in Israeli intelligence.
It is known that at least 200 SAS soldiers, and others from the Special Boat Service, its naval equivalent, have been in Iraq throughout the war.
They are now helping to search for prominent members of Saddam Hussein's regime, and recently captured Watban al-Tikriti, a half-brother of Saddam and a former interior minister.
Earlier, they picked out targets for US and British aircraft, secured airfields in western Iraq, and engaged in undercover operations.
The story of two SAS men - and the others involved in the mission - might compare to Bravo Two Zero, an account of an SAS patrol in the Iraqi desert in the 1991 Gulf war by its leader, Andy McNab. The MoD has since introduced strict contracts for SAS soldiers officially preventing them from saying anything about their activities.
ยท The final US soldier "missing in action" has been confirmed dead by the Pentagon, after DNA analysis of a body found by an ambushed truck. Sergeant Edward Anguiano, 24, from Texas, was in a support unit attacked near Nassiriya. Nine soldiers were killed and six taken prisoner, among them Private Jessica Lynch, who was rescued on April 1.