Thunderstorm terrorists, special services of the world
Today, terrorism, as a global problem, is sometimes said that its consequences could lead to the Third World War. According to some security experts, this war has already begun - and this is a war against terrorism. Indeed, since the middle of the last century, terrorism has gradually become an integral part of the political and economic processes in the world. Today, it greatly threatens the security of mankind. So, only in 2009, as a result of terrorist attacks in the whole world, almost 16 thousand people died, and more than 58 thousand were injured. Terrorism today is not only a problem for countries with political, national or religious tensions. The terrorist attacks in the US 11 September 2001 radically changed the nature of threats to international security in the world. They demonstrated the possibility of hitting a significant number of people (more than 3 thousand people died that day) and objects without using traditional weapons: captured airplanes, computer networks, banking or postal systems do not fit the definition of "weapon" in the conventional sense. Today, international terrorism must be fought with complex methods - at the systemic and international levels. Now it has become absolutely clear that a single country cannot alone confront the phenomenon of terrorism. There was a need for coordination of efforts at the level of countries and international organizations. Perhaps it is already time to create a certain rapid reaction structure that would have numbered several thousand soldiers and was well prepared, modernly armed and worked in advance, avoiding any manifestations of terrorism. And its fighters protected the population from the terrorist attacks that today lead to the death of thousands of people.
So far there is no such structure, but in many countries of the world there are less numerous, but well-armed and trained mobile special forces, whose main task is the fight against terrorists.
History The anti-terrorist units began in the middle of the last century, when the need arose for specially trained special forces units that would undertake the mission of finding and destroying terrorists, freeing hostages, as well as the protection of VIP people. Now such units exist in more than 50 countries of the world, we offer to get acquainted with the best of them. (The rating provided does not pretend to the role of peer review, and the units are arranged in random order).
NETHERLANDS
Bijzondere Bijstands Eenheid - a special assistance unit - the antiterrorist units of the Royal Netherlands Navy Corps.
In the usual time BBE - a typical structural unit of the country's army. The most elite part of the group is a special detachment of marines (GOEM), and there is also a ground assault squadron (ACG). Structurally, BBE consists of 2-x platoons, in each 33 person. Each platoon is divided into 4 attacking teams. These teams, in turn, are divided into fives.
There is also a special police unit for communications between marines and paratroopers. It is known that in 90 minutes one of these squad groups always ends up in any part of the Netherlands.
The detachment has a special boat squadron at sea, on the boats there are additional teams in the number of 4 - 6 people. Almost every week there are sea exercises of BBE units. Marines of a special detachment to combat terrorism held joint internships and were trained to interact with members of similar special forces from many countries of the world - France, the USA, Germany, Belgium, and Spain.
The special group gained popularity in 1977 year, when the fighters of the detachment counteracted the terrorists who seized the train in the south of the country. The criminals demanded that the Dutch authorities influence the government of Indonesia to allow the latter to recognize the south of Mollui as an independent state. Terrorists, to show the seriousness of their intentions, killed one of the passengers of the train. Negotiations with them lasted more than two weeks, but to no avail. And the authorities decided that perhaps the only way to rescue the hostages was to begin an assault — moreover, two bombers were involved in the attack.
The seizure of the train lasted seven minutes. The six WWE members were captured by the WWE, and seven were eliminated. During the assault two hostages died. This operation was included in all textbooks for special anti-terror units.
FRANCE
The national gendarmerie intervention group is exactly that translated from the French GIGN - Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale. The group takes its beginning in March 1974. It was created to counter Arab terrorism in France. Initially, the group consisted of 15 volunteer gendarmes. At that time, specially prepared anti-terrorist units did not exist in the world. Even the Israeli Sayeret Matkal and the English SAS were not originally created as anti-terrorism, but as reconnaissance and sabotage units. Today, to get into this special unit, you must serve at least five years in other divisions of the national gendarmerie corps. Particular preference is given to those who served in the squadron of paratroopers and units to suppress riots in prisons.
Candidates for the position of an elite French “commando” must pass psychological tests, pass a serious test of physical readiness: one of the selection criteria is to swim to the 50-meter distance with your hands tied. In addition, the future Special Forces soldier must shoot perfectly - you need to knock out 80 points from 100 possible when firing a pistol at targets at a distance of 25 m. From a rifle must hit the target located at a distance of 200 m and score at least 75 points. At the same time the shooter is constantly moving. The best result is fundamental for selecting a candidate for the group.
All tests pass no more than 10% of the initial list of candidates. Those who are enrolled in cadets undergo an intensive course of physical training, which includes training to overcome obstacles, methods of self-defense and attack, mountain training and swimming. They must undergo training in infantry tactics, hand-to-hand combat, disembarking from helicopters, mountain climbing, scuba diving. The course of urban mountaineering includes all fighters: during it, various methods of penetrating schools, houses, large shopping centers, and descending from a helicopter by a rope to the ground, rooftops, and water are practiced. Also, all fighters take an air training special course - jumps are carried out in full gear and with weapons. That is why the entire composition of the National Gendarmerie Intervention Unit is skydiving. The group includes units of the special detachment command, four task forces and an evaluation and negotiations section (consisting of 4 employees). The command section consists of a commander, deputy and three operational officers. The special squad includes clerical, logistic, technical personnel, as well as support and training specialists. Recently, a squad of dogs was included in the squad. The main task forces include a field commander and fifteen gendarmes. In addition, two task forces are used exclusively for underwater penetration.
Two GIGN units are constantly on duty around the clock. The readiness time for the assignment is 30 mines from the moment the decision is made at the headquarters of the national gendarmerie and the receipt of the order on the use of special forces units. Only the head of the General Directorate of the National Gendarmerie can give an order for the use of special forces. French special forces can be involved in any state, if there is agreement from the leadership of this country.
The most successful operation is the rescue of eighteen hostages of the aircraft in Marseille, which was captured by terrorists in December 1994. In addition, fighters of the GIGN groups distinguished themselves during the suppression of the rebellion of prisoners in the French prison of Clervaux in January 1978, in May 1988, during an operation to restore order on the island of New Caledonia during the rebellion of the Kanak natives. The fighters of this special unit actively participated in November 1979 in suppressing a riot in Saudi Arabia, when over 1,5 thousands of rebels took the Kaaba mosque in the city of Mecca. After several failed attempts to assault the mosque by the troops of Saudi Arabia, the king of the country, Khaled, appealed to French President Jean-Esten for help. The five specialists from GIGN, who were sent to Mecca, not only developed an action plan, but also directly supervised some operations. The participation of employees of a special unit in this operation is not an isolated case of the international cooperation of the French special services. For example, in 1979, the GIGN heads of special divisions traveled to Morocco to assist in the creation of an anti-terrorism unit in the Moroccan special services.
AUSTRIA
The Cobra, the anti-terrorist unit of the Austrian police, was created by the Austrian authorities after 1973, when terrorists attacked the ministers participating in the OPEC congress. In 1978, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Austria announced the formation of an anti-terrorism unit.
The Cobra is not part of the Austrian Federal Police, but is directly under the control of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, Director General of Public Security at the Austrian Ministry of the Interior. The main special forces office is located in Wiener Neustadt with branches in Graz, Linz and Innsbruck. Today its number is over 200 people.
In addition to counter-terrorism actions, the unit is responsible for the security of Schwek Airport in Vienna.
During the entire existence of the unit, not a single fighter died. That is why the "Cobra" is considered, perhaps, one of the best anti-terrorist groups in the world.
RUSSIA
The Alpha Group of the USSR KGB (Group A) was established on July 29, 1974, on the initiative of the Chairman of the USSR KGB Yuri Andropov and the Head of the Seventh Directorate of the USSR KGB, General Alexei Beschastnykh. At first, the number of Alpha employees did not exceed forty people, and the group was staffed mainly from operatives of the KGB of the USSR, who had served at least three years, had passed special training and were worthy of health service for airborne troops. Although there is information that the Alfovtsev’s health requirements were even tougher - only those whose health met the criteria for flying into space could get into the group. Emotionally balanced people who did not lose composure in extreme situations, were not afraid of intense fire from any types of weapons.
The main task of the special forces is the fight against terrorism and other particularly dangerous extremist manifestations, which include: the taking of hostages and vehicles, diplomatic missions and sensitive sites not only in the Union, but also abroad. The celebrated baptism of Alpha was the famous assault on the palace of the Afghan dictator Amin in Kabul on December 27 of 1979 of the year. At the time of the collapse of the USSR, special units served around 500 officers, and Alpha units were created in Kiev, Krasnodar, Minsk, Almaty and Yekaterinburg.
After the collapse of the USSR and the reorganization of the KGB, the Alpha was transferred to the Federal Guard Service for several years. Employees began to protect the highest officials of the state, including the President.
During the tragic events in October 1993 of the year (opposition of the President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin and supporters of the Supreme Soviet of Russia, headed by Hasbulatov and Rutsky), the Alfa people refused to take the White House by storm. In 95, Alfa was transferred to the structure of the anti-terrorist unit of the FSB.
Most of the operations with the participation of "Alpha" entered the secret textbooks on combating terrorism and continue to remain the pinnacle of the anti-terrorist activities of the special services against separatists and enemies of the state.
Let us briefly discuss the most well-known operations in which the employees of the special division "Alpha" were involved. In December, 1981, in Sarapul (Udmurt ASSR), two armed deserters captured 25 students of a local high school as hostages. They demanded a visa and a plane to the Federal Republic of Germany or another capitalist country. During the special operation, the terrorists were neutralized, none of the hostages were injured. 20 September 1986 of the year three soldiers from the regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs seized AKM machine gun, RPK-47 light machine gun and Dragunov's sniper rifle and seized a taxi. On the way, they shot two police officers. Frightened by what he had done, one of the soldiers disappeared, the others headed for the airfield, where they captured a Tu-134 civilian plane, on board of which were 76 passengers (among them 8 women and 6 children) and five crew members. During the hijacking of the aircraft, deserters killed 2 passengers and demanded to fly to Pakistan. During the assault carried out by Alpha employees, one deserter was killed, the other was wounded in the leg.
If we analyze the modern Russian history, the “Alpha” were involved in complex anti-terrorism operations. In June, a well-armed gang of Shamil Basayev rushed into Budyonnovsk on two KamAZ vehicles in June. Gangsters seized a city hospital with medical staff and patients, including women in labor and mothers with babies. In total, about two thousand people became hostages. On the morning of June 1995, in extremely difficult conditions, Alpha employees stormed the hospital. Despite the difficult conditions, the assault developed successfully - the terrorists suffered very heavy losses. This made them revise their plans. Using a mobile phone, Basayev contacted the representative of the Russian government, V. Chernomyrdin. According to the agreements reached, a corridor was provided to terrorists for unhindered exit from the city. Alpha received orders to retreat. Having captured more than two hundred people with them as human shields, the bandits of buses headed towards Chechnya. Near the Zandak settlement, the militants released all the hostages. As a result of the terrorist attack in Budennovsk, 17 civilians, 130 police officers, 18 military personnel, including 18 Alpha employee, were killed. 3 March 13 of the year in the village of Novogroznensky (Chechnya) employees of "Alpha" as part of the consolidated operational-combat group of TsSN FSB captured Salman Raduyev, the leader of the "army" Dzhokhar Dudayev. Thanks to the spetsnaz and intelligence operations, the guards of “terrorist number 2000” were disarmed, and he was taken right in bed.
NORWAY
The intelligence agency Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) is a division of the Norwegian Ministry of Defense forces that was created in 1981 due to the heightened risk of terrorist activity, especially on oil platforms in the North Sea. That is why the Norwegian anti-terrorism unit is mainly trained to work on oil platforms, of which there are many in Norway.
Of course, the functionality of FSK is not limited to this. Soldiers of the squad are trained in aircraft control, operations in residential buildings, trains. They are also trained for anti-terrorist operations on ferries and passenger ships, which run between the continent and Norway. The special forces usually serve on 4-5 years. The special forces base is located in Trandumi in Aershus, about 60 km from Oslo.
In wartime, the special unit is part of the country's army and focuses mainly on the north of Norway, near Finland. Norwegians were trained by experts from the British SAS. The special groups of these two states still maintain close ties and participate in joint exercises. As a rule, FSK leaves only if officially requested by the Norwegian police. Another mission of the special forces is to protect the royal family, the national assembly and the government. Once a year, FSK personnel participate in antiterrorist exercises called Gemini. FSK employees also attend a special school in Germany.
USA
"Delta"
The 1 Special Operations Task Force Delta was established in 1976 to fight terrorism, and is also used to free American hostages abroad. Delta is subordinate to the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), but is controlled by the General Special Operations Command (JSOC).
Most recruits are recruited from the US Army Special Forces and from the 75 Regiment of US Army Rangers who served at least 2 in the army. At the initial stage, the selection method was based on the British SAS model. Candidates are tested for physical endurance, the ability to navigate the terrain, including at night. Much attention in the selection is paid to the psychological training of volunteers.
If a soldier successfully passes the tests, a six-month training course awaits him, during which he studies the methods of counter-terrorism and undergoes anti-intelligence training. The Pentagon carefully monitors any information about the detachment "Delta" and does not comment on its secret missions. Fighters "Delta" have greater autonomy and flexibility in carrying out tasks. For example, wearing civilian clothes is the norm even when special forces are not involved in operations, but are in “winter quarters”.
It is allowed to wear informal hairstyles that are suitable for civilian standards - it is considered that it is more difficult to recognize a Delta fighter as a purely military person during special operations.
The special squad consists of 500 people, among whom are women. During its existence, Delta has participated in hundreds of covert operations around the world. The action against Iraq during the war in the Persian Gulf is considered the most successful operation.
One of the biggest failures was an attempt to free hostages in the US embassy in Tehran in 1980. In an attempt to storm the Americans, they accidentally burned a helicopter, a warehouse with fuel, a plane and a bus, the Delta fighters retreated in panic. 53 hostage sat in the US embassy 444 day and were released only through negotiations.
Navy SEALs
Sea Air Land - literally translated from English - "seals" - the special operations forces of the US Navy, designed to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage operations from the sea.
“Seals” take their history from the time of the Civil War of 1861, when the northerners used combat swimmers to find and neutralize the mines of the southerners. The current Navy SEALs Corps was formed in 1962. President Kennedy can be considered their "godfather." Only trusted fighters were invited to the special squad, the main skill of which was the ability to swim well, wield melee weapons and shoot. Selection in the “seal” was made from among volunteers no younger than 19 and no older than 25 years old, and they should have served at least two years in the US Navy. The candidate was supposed to be healthy both physically and psychologically. The soldiers who have passed the selection are waiting for a seven-week course of physical training and training in special swimming techniques. At this stage, cadets learn new methods of physical development, train endurance, respiratory system. Future seals also learn the skills of subversive and sniper shooting, orienteering and radio communications. In the final preparation, the dropout rate is 90% of the initial number of cadets. Those who reached the last stage of preparation, parachute for another three weeks, are engaged in piloting, guidance and adjustment of actions aviation.
But after being recruited into the elite unit, they are not allowed to engage in serious operations and are mainly used to cover the rear, ensure the withdrawal of the main forces, and divert the attention of the enemy. So the recruit is serving the 3 year to the end of the 1 contract. Only after the signing of the second contract, the recruit can consider himself a full-fledged "seal." The main units of the naval special forces are stationed in California on Coronado Island near San Diego and in Virginia in the city of Little Creek. The Navy SEALs includes two battle groups and two squadrons of special ships, which ensure the delivery of sea rangers to the area of operations and their combat support. The main shock forces are stationed on Coronado, these are 6 squads (teams) of combat swimmers. In addition, various special groups are part of the Navy SEALs: the UCSG is a special shuttle group, a highly mobile squad that specializes in the transfer and evacuation of special forces. These units are multipurpose units whose soldiers are specially equipped and trained to perform special tasks on the coast of the oceans and seas. “Seals” are provided with ultra-small submarines and underwater transporters to deliver them to the enemy’s shore, armed with special weapons. From the 1962 of the year to the present, the "seals" have participated in all the operations that the United States carried out without exception. The special role of naval special forces played during the Vietnam War. Their goal was the Viet Cong leaders.
For a long time, the existence of "seals" was a state secret. At the end of the 80s, with the warming of relations between the United States and the USSR, some operations were declassified. However, operations to free hostages are not widely known. The main operations of the "seals" were carried out in the territories of other countries to rescue American prisoners of war and destroy the leaders of terrorist organizations.
ISRAEL
“Sayeret MATKAL” is a special unit of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (CAGAL), also known as the “269 compound”. This highly secret military unit is subordinated exclusively to the chief of the general staff and is intended for carrying out reconnaissance and sabotage operations of special importance, military support for intelligence and anti-terrorist actions in Israel and abroad.
A special unit was created in 1957 year. Initially, it was created on the model of the elite special forces unit of the armed forces of Great Britain SAS. The personnel training system of Sayeret Matkal includes compulsory military service - 3 of the year, a course of elementary education - 1 year and annual training in military units. After five years, the "cadet" turns into a full-fledged fighter. A special unit consists approximately of 1000 fighters, not counting support teams.
It is worth noting that Israel, until recently, generally concealed the presence of elite special forces, information about most of the operations of the “269 compound”, whose employees implicitly belong to the world elite of professional “commandos”, is hidden under the “secret” vultures and will probably never become open to the general public.
Here are a few operations in which the soldiers were involved in the Israeli special forces. 19 July 1969, employees of Sayeret Matkal, together with a group of underwater swimmers, carried out an operation code-named Bulmus. During the raid on the Suez Canal, the radar station and anti-aircraft artillery posts, which were guarded by Egyptian special forces, were destroyed. By the way, after this operation, the existence of the “269 compound” was officially recognized.
9 May 1972 Special Forces fighters liberated the plane of the Belgian company Sabena, captured by the Black September fighters.
5 September 1972 terrorists of the "Black September" at the Munich Olympics broke into the Olympic Village and, shooting two Israeli athletes on the spot, took 9 people hostage. The German authorities did not agree to the intervention of the commando "MATKAL", which, as you know, ended in the death of hostages due to inept actions of the local police. During the operation to free the Israeli national team, five terrorists were killed, three were captured.
10 April 1973 of the year - the operation "Spring Youth". The Sayeret Matkal fighters, assisted by naval commandos and 30 agents, Mossad raided the headquarters of Black September in Beirut and the bomb factory that was located there.
GERMANY
The special purpose unit of the German Federal Police, whose name in German sounds like the 9 Border Protection Group (GSG-9).
GSG 9 was created in September 73, exactly one year after the dramatic death of athletes at the Munich Olympics. The purpose of the creation of the German special forces was the suppression of future terrorist attacks in Germany. The special group is directly and solely subordinate only to the Minister of the Interior of Germany. The group commander has a direct connection with the minister, and the fighters are in round-the-clock readiness for combat raids. Such an organization of management helps to avoid the useless use of GSG 9 in minor operations, which can be worked out by units with a lower level of combat capability and other target areas. The special unit is also intended to counter especially dangerous crimes that are connected with attempts on the lives of German political and state leaders, ministers and heads of state of other countries. In addition, the group can prevent particularly grave crimes related to murder, hostage taking, robbery and robbery, extortion on a large scale. The GSG-9 is staffed by volunteers from the German Federal Police. About 150 candidates are recruited annually, 5% of which are screened out even at the places of direct service. All candidates, without exception, privates, non-commissioned officers, officers, undergo a rigorous selection in the course of passing various exams and tests, according to the results of which about a third more candidates are eliminated. During 3 years, candidates must pass a medical examination and complete a four-hour test to verify their psychological state. Then, physical endurance and endurance are tested, as well as small-arms shooting skills. In addition to the exam on purely physical training in various sports, candidates make up a general education test. Those who have successfully passed all the tests are admitted to the training course - the training program for the personnel of the special unit is designed for 8 months, and the vast majority of time is allocated for training on the ground and in conditions closest to the real operational environment. Training is based on several basic principles. This will instill in personnel the skills of independent actions in extreme conditions, working out the interaction and mutual assistance of staff members of the NET operational groups, the operational detachment and the whole unit, and the deepening of knowledge and skills in owning modern types of weapons and equipment. According to statistics, each fighter of the group makes training up to 1 million shots per year. Upon completion of training, you can choose a specialization and continue training in the specialty: sniper, diver, parachutist, engineer or technical specialist and computer programmer.
The well-known operation is the release of passengers of an airplane seized by Arabs in the city of Mogadishu (Somalia) in October 1977. The terrorists demanded to release from the German prisons activists of the Red Army organization (the German left-wing group), the fight against which the GSG considered its main business at the time.
UNITED KINGDOM
SAS (Special Air Service, from English - a special air service) - an elite unit of special forces of the armed forces of Great Britain. The 22 SAS regiment is the main anti-terrorism unit of the UK. The official creation date is considered 24 August 1941. The unit was staffed by volunteers from the airborne troops, whose main task was raids and sabotage actions in the rear of the enemy in North Africa.
30 November The 1946 division was officially dissolved, but in 1947, a modern SAS was formed on the basis of the British Voluntary Regiment. Candidates for the service are, perhaps, the toughest selection that only exists in the elite parts of the world. And for the period of selection the title of the candidate does not matter. This is done so that people who are physically and morally ready to overcome any hardships in the course of carrying out intelligence and special tasks are included in the regiment. Only volunteers from the regular units of the British Army who are deemed worthy to serve in the SAS are eligible for selection.
The selection of applicants to the SAS ranks is carried out in five stages. During the first 10 days, physical capabilities and ability to navigate the terrain are tested. You must run 2,4 km in 12 min. Over the next 10 days, candidates test endurance and test volitional qualities. Daily marches with an increase in load are held - the last march of candidates runs on 64 km with full display and a time limit of 20 hours. Then 98 days are studied tactics, military topography, and fire training. 140 days - training dedicated to parachuting. During the last 21 of the day, the ability to survive in the wild and action under extreme conditions is tested. After the 179 days of intensive selection, only one candidate out of five passes through all the stages and signs a contract. However, SAS recruits are still waiting for 203 for a day of intensive training. This is hand-to-hand combat, shooting from any position, in the dark, by ear or by flash, disruptive, rock-climbing, scuba-diving. Soldiers are taught tactics of reconnaissance and sabotage actions and survive in difficult environmental conditions. Those who have passed all the trials and remained in the ranks are presented with the symbol of distinction of the SAS soldier - he takes a sandy color with an emblem with a proud motto: “Who dares wins” - “The brave wins”.
The most famous operation of the SAS fighters is to free hostages at the Iranian embassy in London in 1980.
Sauna360.ru - online resource for easy selection saunas and baths St. Petersburg. Here you can find complete information: photos, description of services, prices, maps, contacts, virtual tours (3D bath and sauna in St. Petersburg).
Information