71st Special Battalion or 71st Counter Terrorism Battalion or as known today Special Unit II is a Jordanian

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

that specializes in combating terrorism. Established in 1973, it is today known as being one of the best trained special forces units in the Middle East.

Operations

The battalion is thought to have participated in several operations. In 1977, they participated in ending a hotel siege in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

. In 2006, following

2005 Amman Bombings The 2005 Amman bombings were a series of coordinated suicide bomb attacks on three hotel lobbies in Amman, Jordan, on 9 November 2005. The explosions at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Radisson SAS Hotel, and the Days Inn started at around 20:50 l ...

, the battalion collaborated with the Jordanian intelligence agents in several operations which included the capture of

Ziad Khalaf Raja al-Karbouly Ziad Khalaf al-Karbouly ( ar, زياد خلف الكربولي; 1970 - died 4 February 2015), a native of Al-Qa'im, was an Islamist former Iraqi officer and the son of an Iraqi tribal sheikh of the Al-Karabla clan of the Dulaim. Arrest and tria ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In 2013, Crown prince Hussein participated in a training session with the 71st battalion members. On 22 June 2014, responding to the threat of

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

which captured the Iraqi city of

Ar Rutba , image_skyline = File:USMC-090101-M-0493G-066 (cropped).jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = A rooftop view of Ar-Rutbah on 1 January 2009 , image_map = , pushpin_map = Iraq , subdivision_type = Country , subdivisio ...

not far from the Jordanian border, the unit was dispatched to the area. On 1 March 2016, the unit clashed with extremist militias in the city of

Irbid Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in ...

in northern Jordan as part of the General Intelligence Directorate attempt to foil a terrorist plot against military and civilian targets in Jordan by ISIS affiliates. The battalion was dispatched to the

Kerak Castle Kerak Castle ( ar, قلعة الكرك, Qal'at al-Karak) is a large medieval castle located in al-Karak, Jordan. It is one of the largest castles in the Levant. Construction began in the 1140s, under Pagan and Fulk, King of Jerusalem. The Crusa ...

, during the events of the

2016 Al-Karak attack On 18 December 2016, a series of shootings took place in the city of Al-Karak in southern Jordan. The attack started in the vicinity of Al-Karak where a group of unidentified militants ambushed emergency responders and then moved into the city, a ...

External links

71st Special Battalion exercise video

References

{{Jordanian Armed Forces Military special forces battalions Military units and formations of Jordan Counterterrorist organizations Military units and formations established in 1973