UK Special Forces Hunt For Taliban Gunman

21.02.2010

A series of news reports have mentioned that UK Special Forces are on the trail of a Taliban gunman who killed 5 British servicemen in November.

Background

On the 4th November 2009, a Taliban gunman, posing as an Afghan policeman, opened fire on a group of British and Afghan personnel who were manning a checkpoint / base in the Nad-e-Ali district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The shooting resulted in the deaths of 5 British servicemen with another 6 injured.
The British Guardsmen and Royal Military Policemen killed were:

• Warrant Officer 1st Class DARREN CHANT, 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards
• Sergeant MATTHEW TELFORD, 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards
• Guardsman JAMES MAJOR, 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards
• Acting Corporal STEVEN BOOTE, Royal Military Police
• Corporal NICHOLAS WEBSTER-SMITH, Royal Military Police

The British soldiers were living and working at the checkpoint as part of a team mentoring the Afghan National police (ANP)

UK Special Forces Join The Hunt

ISAF forces quickly began a manhunt for the gunman, known as Gulbuddin, who had fled the scene of the attack and was thought to be in hiding, helped by the Taliban. On the 5th of November, the British press reported that UK Special Forces, including the SAS, SBS and SRR, were joining the hunt:

• SAS squad lead the manhunt for Afghan assassin Gulbuddin
  (The Mirror)
• SAS join search in Helmand for gunman who killed five soldiers
  (The Times)

Months later, on February 20th, 2010, reports surface that the Special Air Service (SAS) had carried out a raid in the Nad-e-Ali district as part of efforts to find the elusive gunman. It is reported that an SAS team were flown by helicopters to a compound where it was believed that Gulbuddin was sheltering. The SAS team used explosives to blast their way into the room where they hoped to catch Gulbuddin, but he had already fled. The operation was carried out ahead of a larger assault into the district (Operation Moshtarak).

• Operation Moshtarak: killer of five British soldiers was 'within a whisker' of arrest
  (The Telegraph)

more info on the manhunt will be posted as it is made public...

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