COMMANDO Edition 1 2020

compounds on the outskirts of Sangin, Helmand
Province. As they returned to their Land Rover vehicles,
they were ambushed by an estimated 60-70 Taliban
insurgents, with one vehicle disabled by RPG fire, the
team took cover in an irrigation ditch and requested
assistance while holding off the Taliban force. The
Helmand Battle Group had not been informed of the
Operation until it went wrong; a QRF made up of a
Platoon of Gurkhas responded but ran into another
insurgent ambush; one SBS member was seriously injured
in the ambush. After an hour-long gunfight (some sources
say three hours), Apache attack helicopters, the Gurkha
QRF and the 16-man unit, supported by a US A-10
Thunderbolt and two Harrier GR7s managed to break
contact and return to the closest Forward Operating Base
(FOB); two of the four Taliban leaders were killed in the
firefight while the other two escaped in the chaos. Upon
reaching the FOB it was discovered that Captain David
Patton, SRR, and Sergeant Paul Bartlett, SBS were
missing – one was helping wounded out of a vehicle
when he was shot and assumed killed, and the other went
missing during the firefight. A RAF Chinook carrying a
Company from the Parachute Regiment took off to find
them, a pair of Apaches spotted the bodies and the Paras
recovered them. One SBS member was awarded the
Military Cross (MC) for his actions in the ambush.
On 12 May 2007, an SBS team killed the Taliban
leader Mullah Dadullah after JSOC and the Intelligence
Support Activity 7 (ISA) tracked him to a compound -
where his associates were meeting - near Bahram Chah,
Helmand province. The ISA confirmed he was there and
an SBS reconnaissance element carried out recon -
naissance of the compound which showed that Dadullah
was protected by 20 insurgents. That night, with the ISA
monitoring the target, the majority of C Squadron were
inserted by RAF Chinook HC.2 helicopters while Apache
helicopters provided cover. The troops stormed the
compound and an hour long firefight took place as small
groups of Taliban were hunted down and killed. Four SBS
personnel were wounded (one seriously). Eventually
Dadullah was shot in the chest and head, a brief Sensitive
Site Exploitation 8 (SSE) was conducted and the assault
force was picked up by helicopter. On 29 July 2007,
members of the SBS were carrying out a special mission
in Nimruz when they were involved in a firefight with
Taliban insurgents, Lance Corporal Michael Jones was
killed and three other members were wounded. On 24
September 2007, members of C Squadron SBS and the
Italian SOF unit Col Moschin rescued two Italian
intelligence agents who were kidnapped two days before
by the Taliban in Herat province near Farah. Col Moschin
7
The Intelligence Support Activity is a United States Army Special
Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and
Security Command (INSCOM) but now part of the Joint Special
Operations Command. It is tasked to collect actionable intelligence in
advance of missions by other US special operations forces, especially 1st
SFOD-D and DEVGRU in counter-terrorist operations.
8
Sensitive Site Exploitation is a military term used by Coalition SF Units
to describe "collecting information, material, and persons from a desig -
nated location and analysing them to answer information requirements,
facilitate subsequent operations, or support criminal prosecution.
parachuted onto a drop zone and marched overnight to
surround the target compound, while the SBS were
standing by in Lynx and Chinook helicopters to provide
cut off groups in case the insurgents attempted to
escape. A US Predator drone also supported the British
and Italians. The insurgents brought the hostages out of
the compound and loaded them into vehicles before the
Italians were in position to rescue them, but the SBS
closed in on the vehicles: aerial snipers using M82A1
.50cal antimaterial rifles forced the vehicles to stop.
A Chinook dropped off more than a dozen SBS
personnel who engaged the Taliban who were
disembarking the vehicles. Eight Taliban insurgents were
killed and the hostages were rescued, although one died
of gunshot wounds.
On 18 February 2008, Taliban leader Mullah Abdul
Matin and one of his sub-commanders, Mullah Karim
Agha, along with several bodyguards were travelling
through the desert near Gereshk, Helmand province on
motorbikes when they were ambushed and killed by an
SBS unit dropped into his path by helicopter. In February
2009, members of the SBS took part in Operation Diesel,
which resulted in the seizure of £50 million of heroin and
the killing of at least 20 Taliban insurgents. On 29 August
2009, Sergeant Lee Houltram of the SBS was killed by an
IED during an SF operation to destroy a bomb factory
near Gereshk in Helmand province. On 9 September
2009, an SBS team supported by the Special Forces
Support Group 9 (SFSG) rescued Times journalist Stephen
Farrell from a Taliban safe house in Char Dara District,
Kunduz Province after he and his Afghan interpreter had
been captured by the Taliban while reporting on the
Kunduz airstrike. The UKSF were forced to act when
intercepted communications of the Taliban leader
showed them discussing moving the hostages into
Pakistan. They were inserted before dawn by the US
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment 10 (SOAR)
helicopters directly onto the target building. While the
SFSG set up a cordon, the Afghan interpreter was
accidentally shot and killed, and two civilians were killed
by an explosive breaching charge on the compound.
Although an SFSG soldier was killed, Farrell was
successfully rescued. On 1 July 2010 during an operation
against insurgents in Haji Wakil, Helmand Province,
Corporal Seth Stephens of the SBS was killed during a
heavy firefight while clearing a compound, as a result of
his actions during that operation, he was awarded the
Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC).
9
The Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) is the newest addition to the
United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). It was formed officially on 3 April
2006 to provide specialist infantry and other support to the Special Air
Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Boat
Service on operations. The 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment (1 PARA),
a company strength group of Royal Marines, and a contingent of RAF
Regiment personnel form the UK's SFSG.
10
The US 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne),
abbreviated as 160th SOAR (A), is a Special Operations Force (SOF) of
the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for
general purpose forces and SOF. Its missions have included attack,
assault, and reconnaissance, and these missions are usually conducted
at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.
46 COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 1 I 2020