Times, UK

Delta Force 'has killed hundreds'

BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR

AMERICAN Delta Force troops have killed hundreds of Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, according to US military officials.

Under their rules of engagement, the special forces troops, whose existence is never officially acknowledged by the Pentagon, have been given an “unrestricted hunting licence”.

So far, Delta Force has had a good war. Having lost some of its highly trained members in Somalia in 1993 during a disastrous peacekeeping operation, when 18 American soldiers, a mix of Rangers and Delta Force, died in an ambush, the 800-strong unit has been in need of battle glory.

Afghanistan has provided the right environment, especially because they can operate covertly and without the prying eyes of television cameras. US military officials told The Washington Times that small teams of Delta Force soldiers and other units had been ambushing Taleban and al-Qaeda troops and killing them in batches.

“From the reports I have seen, they have killed in the hundreds and there have been no deaths on our side,” one US official was quoted as saying.

General Tommy Franks, Commander-in-Chief Central Command, has given the special forces the freedom to roam in Afghanistan and to seize whatever opportunity arises to kill the enemy. To avoid “friendly fire” between US and British troops, defence sources said that the SAS has been given its own area of operations because it works more effectively as a separate force.

Copyright 2001

-- Anonymous, November 23, 2001