Operation Trent
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Operation Trent was an operation by Special Air Service (SAS) elements of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, the largest known post-WWII operation in SAS history. Tony Blair had requested that the SAS be allowed an operation. The operation was carried out by members of a regimental task group, made up of a tactical HQ, members of A Squadron (A Sqn) and G Squadron (G Sqn) of the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS), supported by United States (US) forces, on an al-Qaeda-linked opium plant during the
2001 invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operati ...
at the start of
Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
(OEF-A).Neville, Leigh, '' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 , pp.69-72, p.73


Background

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda, the US and the United Kingdom (UK) began the invasion of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
on 7 October 2001, to dismantle and destroy al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
from power. In mid-October 2001, A Sqn and G Sqn of 22 SAS deployed to north west Afghanistan in support of OEF-A under the command of
United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...
(CENTCOM). They conducted largely uneventful reconnaissance tasks under the codename Operation Determine, none of these tasks resulted in enemy contact; after a fortnight and with missions drying up both squadrons returned to their barracks in the UK.Finlan, Alastair , '' Special Forces, Strategy and the War on Terror: Warfare By Other Means (Cass Military Studies) '', Routledge, 2009


Prelude

After political intersession with
Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, the SAS were given a direct-action task – the destruction of an al-Qaeda-linked opium processing plant. The facility was located southwest of
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
at the foot of the Koh-I-Malik mountain, north of the
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
border, the facility was made up of a system of houses, compounds and caves, with defences consisting of trench lines and several makeshift bunkers-manned by between 80 and 100 foreign fighters mostly from al-Qaeda. Intelligence indicated that some of the terrorists guarding the facility were well armed and trained at one of al-Qaeda's top training camps and that their morale would be high. It was being used as a headquarters and a staging post for al-Qaeda and the Taliban for getting drugs and equipment across the border into
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, it was also an Opium factory. In mid-November 2001, A and G squadron 22 SAS were covertly re-inserted into
Bagram Airfield Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of above sea lev ...
under the codename Operation Blood to carry out the assault.Cawthorne, Nigel, '' Heroes on the Front Line: True Stories of the Deadliest Missions Behind Enemy Lines in Afghanistan and Iraq'', John Blake, 2011, , p.73 The SAS were ordered to assault the facility in full daylight: the timelines had been mandated by CENTCOM and were based on the availability of air support assets – only one hour of on-call close air support was provided. The timings meant that the squadrons could not carry out a detailed reconnaissance of the site prior to the assault being launched. Despite these factors, the commanding officer of 22 SAS, Lieutenant Colonel
Ed Butler Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Edward Adam Butler Order of the British Empire, CBE, Distinguished Service Order, DSO (born 27 February 1962) is a former British Army officer who commanded Task Force Helmand. Early life Butler is the son o ...
, accepted the mission. The target was a low priority for the US and probably would have been destroyed from the air if the British hadn't argued for a larger role in Afghanistan; US SOF commanders guarded targets for their own units., p.73 The area of the facility had not often been visited and rarely surveyed, they did not have maps of a scale smaller than 1:1500,000, on which the proposed LZ was not shown, the SAS would have to insert an advance team to check its suitability.Cawthorne, Nigel, '' Heroes on the Front Line: True Stories of the Deadliest Missions Behind Enemy Lines in Afghanistan and Iraq'', John Blake, 2011, Sources vary on number of SAS members involved in the operation, 100 being the lowestEwans, Martin , '' Conflict in Afghanistan: Studies in Asymmetric Warfare'', Routledge, 2014 120Lewis, John E., '' The Mammoth Book of Covert Ops: True Stories of Covert Military Operations, from the Bay of Pigs to the Death of Osama bin Laden (Mammoth Books)'', Robinson, 2014, and 140 being the highest


Operation


Insertion

The mission began in November 2001, with an 8-man patrol from G Sqn's Air Troop performing a
HALO Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...
parachute jump from a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
(USAF) or
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) C-130 Hercules flying out of
Camp Rhino Forward operating base (FOB) Rhino, also known as Camp Rhino, was a U.S. military base located in the Registan Desert of Afghanistan, southwest of Kandahar. It was the first U.S. land base established in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring ...
at (other sources say ) and parachuting through Sub-zero temperatures with their parachutes opening automatically at - onto a barren desert site in
Registan The Registan (Uzbek language, Uzbek: Регистон, Registon) was the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand of the Timurid Empire, now in Uzbekistan. The name ''Rēgistan'' () means "sandy place" or "desert" in Persian language, Persian. Th ...
in
Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
/
Kandahar Province Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzga ...
to test its suitability as an improvised airstrip for the landing of the main assault force in 6 USAF C-130 Hercules. The Air Troop team confirmed it was suitable and marked out the runway and moved to lay-up positions. Seventeen hours later, the fleet of C-130s (flying out of Bagram Airfield) began to land, each touching down just long enough for the SAS to disembark in their vehicles. Operators from A Sqn G Sqn drove directly off the ramps as the aircraft moved along the desert strip before taking off again; driving 38
Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
DPV 110/"pinkies", 2 logistics vehicles and 8 Kawasaki dirt bikes, they formed up and proceeded towards their target. One Land Rover broke down due to an engine problem, the vehicle was left behind, its 3-man crew stayed to guard it (they were picked up when the assault force exfilled). The assault force drove , the drive being difficult due to poor visibility as a result of the fine dust) within a limited amount of time, to a previously agreed forming-up point and split into two elements - the main assault force and the FSB (fire support base). A Sqn was given the task of assaulting the target facility, while G Sqn took the role of FSB. G Sqn would suppress the enemy with vehicle-mounted L7A2 GPMGs,
M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, ...
HMGs,
MILAN Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
antitank missiles along with
L16 81mm mortar The L16 81mm mortar is a British standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar, w ...
s and Barrett M82A1 sniper rifles, (from a position away) allowing A Sqn to close in on the target. The force was out of range of coalition artillery. If necessary, G Sqn would send in additional men if the attack got pinned down. The force lay in wait during the first hours of the early morning. Just after 0700h, A Sqn observed the enemy moving in and out of the trenches.Neville, Leigh, '' Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan (Elite)'', Osprey Publishing, 2008, Neville, Leigh, '' Special Operations Patrol Vehicles: Afghanistan and Iraq (New Vanguard)'', Osprey Publishing, 2011Cawthorne, Nigel, '' Heroes on the Front Line: True Stories of the Deadliest Missions Behind Enemy Lines in Afghanistan and Iraq'', John Blake, 2011,


Assault

The assault began with a preparatory air-strike:
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
(USN) F/A-18 Hornets (F-18) and F-14 Tomcats (F-14) bombed and strafed the area, destroying the plant's depots (£50 million worth of opium). Following this, A Sqn moved at high speed from its start line, firing their weapons whilst dodging
RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
rockets. They pulled up meters from the outer perimeter to dismount from their vehicles and closed in on the last few hundred yards to the target on foot over difficult terrain. The main body formed a semi-circle in front of, and below, the first trenches, where they were ordered to assault. The opposing forces responded by firing their
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
assault rifles and
RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
s, while other fighters could be seen moving into positions further away. All the while, G Sqn (who were positioned in a 'bullhorn' formation around the facility) provided covering fire with heavy weapons onto the facility. A Sqn encountered heavy resistance from the bunkers and trenches and eventually became pinned down. Air support flew sorties until they ran out of munitions. On a final pass, after destroying an enemy-occupied bunker with a
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
-guided
JDAM The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Po ...
, an F-18 strafed a bunker with its
Vulcan cannon The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and it ...
, narrowly missing several members of G Sqn. As A Sqn closed on the fortified positions, an SAS trooper was wounded, with two other SAS members dashing forward and carrying him to safety. At least 12 SAS soldiers managed to penetrate the entrances to caves and trenches, killing at least 6 al-Qaeda and / or Taliban fighters. Even though they were not well trained, the Al-Qaeda fighters fought ferociously and the SAS had to fight hard to make progress. As the fighting continued, more and more fighters came out of the trenches and into the open, with heavy fire being exchanged; one SAS officer was hit by two rounds in his ceramic plates and a third in his water bottle on his belt kit. A member of the SAS who participated in the raid said of the terrorists that "these guys were lunatics" and that "surrender was the last thing on their minds. They would run out of the front line firing. It was something out of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, these were not people, proper soldiers, who could be treated with dignity. If they had a breath left in them they would be trying to shoot you so we had no choice but to kill." The RSM in command of the FSB joined in the action, bringing forward the CO's HQ team to reinforce A Sqn when he believed the assault was stalling. They were several hundred meters from the enemy positions when he was shot in the leg by an AK-47 round, making him the second SAS soldier to be wounded. Several SAS soldiers were prevented from getting injured and/or killed by their body armour and helmets (they were equipped with tactical helmets and plate carrier body armour; most disliked wearing the helmets and allegedly had to be ordered to do so). Eventually, the A Sqn assault force reached the objective and cleared the caves. In one cave, they found 3 fighters sleeping, who were killed when they started scrambling for their weapons. They also cleared the HQ building, gathering all intelligence materials they could find. More fighters closed in on the SAS assault force who were then engaged by SAS snipers as both sides were now too close for air support to be called in. After 2 hours and finally mopping up the last remnants of al-Qaeda fighters at the facility, the objective had been cleared. In the al-Qaeda HQ, A Sqn members found an intelligence bounty- two laptops and a mass of paperwork with information. The mission lasted 4 hours and a total of 4 SAS operators had been wounded. Both squadrons withdrew and rendezvoused with a US
CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...
to extract their wounded, while the rest were extracted by C-130 Hercules from a TLZ (Temporary Landing Zone).Cawthorne, Nigel, '' Heroes on the Front Line: True Stories of the Deadliest Missions Behind Enemy Lines in Afghanistan and Iraq'', John Blake, 2011,


Aftermath

The 4 wounded SAS operators' injuries were not life-threatening. The lowest number of al-Qaeda terrorists and Taliban fighters killed is 18;Clements, Frank A., '' Conflict in Afghanistan: An Encyclopedia (Roots of Modern Conflict)'', ABC-CLIO, 2003 other sources put the figure at 73 al-Qaeda killed. Several dozen more were wounded and captured, though no high level al-Qaeda leadership were among those killed or captured. By 18 December 2001, members of A Sqn and G Sqn were back at their base in the UK. Members of both squadrons were awarded a total of two CGCs, one DSO, two MCs and several MiDs;Cawthorne, Nigel, '' Heroes on the Front Line: True Stories of the Deadliest Missions Behind Enemy Lines in Afghanistan and Iraq'', John Blake, 2011, the strategic significance of the facility has never fully been explained. In January and February 2002, media sensationalised with accounts of the operation based mostly on speculation, with some suggesting that the bravery of the SAS merited
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
es.


Date of the operation

Most sources place the operation in November (specifically between mid and late November) of that year, however some sources say the operation took place in December.Nicol, Mark '' Ultimate Risk: SAS Contact Al Qaeda'', Macmillan, 2004, One source gives the date as 22 November., p.73


See also

*
Operation Larchwood 4 Operation Larchwood 4 was an operation launched by B squadron of the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment supported by US forces to attack an Al-Qaeda-occupied farmhouse in Yusufiyah, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq. The raid was a major success ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trent, Operation Operations involving British special forces 21st-century military history of the United Kingdom Special Air Service Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United Kingdom Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States Conflicts in 2001 2001 in Afghanistan Afghanistan conflict (1978–present) Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Battles in 2001