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| Iraq | |
| Who Dares Wins | |
| 2006-01-10 | |
| HEADLINE: Snipers' head shots had to kill terrorists simultaneously to prevent explosions Early on a warm summer morning, a few hours before traffic began to Fill the streets, a 16-man SAS patrol took up ambush positions around a Baghdad house, writes Sean Rayment. The soldiers had been told that the house was a being used as a base by insurgents - and up to three suicide bombers were expected to leave it later that morning. Dressed in explosive vests, they were fully equipped to hit a number of locations around the city. The bombers' targets were thought to be cafes and restaurants frequented by members of the Iraqi security forces. The intelligence was regarded as "high grade'' and came from an Iraqi agent who had been nurtured by members of the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, for several months. Expectation among the 16 soldiers, attached to Task Force Black (TFB), the secret American and British special forces unit based in the Iraqi capital, was high. Each member of the four four-man groups was a veteran of many missions where the intelligence promised much - only to deliver little. The plan for Operation Marlborough was simple: allow the three suspected bombers to leave the house and get into the street, then kill them with head shots from the four sniper teams. Each team was equipped with L115A .338 sniper rifles, capable of killing at up to 1,000 yards. The soldiers, liaising earlier with their commanders, had considered the option of entering the house and killing the terrorists - but that plan was regarded as too dangerous. The confines of the house would intensify the impact of any blast, killing everyone inside. The SAS soldiers were told that it was vital that the three bombers Would have to be killed simultaneously. If one of them was allowed to detonate a device, scores of people Could be killed or injured. In support of the covert sniper teams was a Quick Reaction Force (QRF), which would provide a dozen extra soldiers within a few minutes in an emergency. The QRF was based in a secure location nearby and a team of ammunition technical officers were on hand to defuse the bombs. A section of Iraqi police was also attached to the operation - although they were not briefed on the detail of the attack - to deal with any crowd trouble. Meanwhile, 2,000 feet above the city of five million inhabitants, a CIA-controlled Predator unmanned air vehicle was providing a real-time video feed back to the TFB headquarters deep inside the secure green zone. Shortly after 8am, Arabic translators, monitoring listening devices hidden inside the house, warned the operations centre inside the militarily controlled green zone that the three terrorist were on the move. The message "stand by, stand by'' was dispatched to the four teams. As the terrorists entered the street, a volley of shots rang out and The three insurgents slumped to the ground. Each terrorist had been killed by a single head shot - the snipers Having spent the past few days rehearsing the ambush in minute detail. The SAS troopers had been warned that only a direct head shot would guarantee that bombs would not be detonated. Only three of the four snipers fired, the fourth was to act as a back-up in case one of the weapons jammed or a sniper lost sight of his target. The message that the terrorists had been killed was sent back to the SAS headquarters and the troops moved forward to check the bodies for life. As they gingerly approached it became brutally apparent that the .338 calibre round - the biggest rifle bullet used by the Army - had done its job. Operation Marlborough was hailed as a complete success and one of the occasions on which the coalition has been able to deliver a decisive blow against suicide bombers. Guinness all around!
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| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 that gave me wood, lol. Pints for the troops! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-10 17:41 |
| #7 U.S. Soldier Stalk, Kill Iraqi Civilians! Bush Approved the Operations! -- how the NY Slimes would report it.... Koran dropped in dirt and desecrated as U.S. Soldiers Kill Iraqi Civilians in Bush Approved operation. -- NewsWeak |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-01-10 17:07 |
| #6 I take it the Telegraph approves. Can you imagine this article appearing in the Guardian... or the New York Times? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-01-10 16:52 |
| #5 The .338 Lapua round is the best sniper round ever invented. Power and ballistics-wise, its as close to perfection as huamns can get. |
| Posted by: Old 2006-01-10 16:41 |
| #4 Did you note that part of the intel was from listening devices in the not-safe house? What's the story with that? I ask rhetorically, since putting the facts out would be a bad idea. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2006-01-10 16:27 |
| #3 Mission Impossible's got nothing on these guys. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2006-01-10 15:04 |
| #2 A mere three bullets used and how many lives saved today? I wonder when the average Iraqi will gain even a remote appreciation for what we go through to protect them. Maybe we need to take a two week "holiday" (all troops confined to quarters) and let Iraq see just how much mayhem al Qaeda would shower upon them. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-01-10 14:31 |
| #1 And here is this fine rifle: http://www.tacticalgamer.com/joint-operations-general-discussion/7946-l115a-british-sniper-rifle.html Sa-weet! |
| Posted by: Brett 2006-01-10 14:31 |