Task Force 88 (anti-terror unit)
Encyclopedia
Task Force 88 is an American special operations
unit formed since 11 September 2001, of which little is publicly known. Described as a "hunter-killer team" with its core made up of Delta Force
, 75th Ranger Regiment Rangers and DEVGRU
operators, Task Force 88 reportedly conducts covert operations against what the US government deems to be High-value targets in countries around the world. The unit was reported to be responsible for both the cross border raid into Syria from Iraq in October 2008 that resulted in eight deaths including Abu Ghadiya
and several US operations in the Horn of Africa
targeting al Qaeda.
, which is similar or identical to Task Force 6-26
. These are most likely changing names for the same operational unit, which appears to have begun as Task Force 11
immediately after the September 11 attacks.
Task Force 145, seemingly also associated with the designation Other Coalition Forces – Iraq (OCF-I), was a combined U.S. and British military special forces
provisional grouping specifically charged with hunting down high-value al-Qaeda
and Iraqi leadership including Osama bin Laden
and, prior to his death on 7 June 2006, Al-Qaeda in Iraq
leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
. It is a continuation of a temporary SF striking force that began as Task Force 11
after the 11 September terrorist attacks, and has morphed through Task Force 121
, Task Force 626
, Task Force 77 (not to be confused with Task Force 77 of the United States 7th Fleet
), and is now believed to be designated Task Force 88
. It is believed that the Task Force played a role in the medium altitude strike mission that killed al-Zarqawi just outside Baqubah
. Generally speaking, the Task Force was charged with disrupting al-Qaeda operations in Iraq
and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan
.
The action arm of the task force is made up of operators from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta
, DEVGRU
, British Special Air Service," British Special Boat Service and soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment
. Members of the CIA's elite Special Activities Division
paramilitary unit are also believed to be an important part of the group. Support elements include the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers), the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron
, and British paratroopers from the Special Forces Support Group
.
The unit was operating up until at least 2006–07; it is not clear whether it is still operational with the U.S. drawdown from Iraq.
.
Over 18 months beginning in early 2007, the task force is reported to have arrested 3,500 terrorists in Baghdad and killed several hundred others. As a result, al Qaeda bomb attacks that were occurring on an average of 150 times and killing almost 3,000 people each month have been reduced to about two bombings each month. During the campaign, six SAS
troops were killed and 30 injured.
During operations in Al-Anbar province, operatives of the task force made incursions into the insurgent controlled city of Haditha
, several times finding Zarqawi's hideouts and when raiding them found eggs, still cooking, just missing the terrorist leader. During this time, with this intelligence, they asked the commander of II MEF(FWD) to have to city of Haditha assaulted in order to flush him out. The general opted for the 3rd Bn 1st Marines, experienced in heavy fighting from Operation Phantom Fury, to assault the city.
It is not clear what the reduced U.S. military role following the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement and associated drawdown to purely advisory operations has had on the task force's operations.
)
) and is based at five locations across Iraq. Its task organization draws on every unit of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as well as on the CIA's
Special Activities Division
and British special operations forces.
The headquarters element, which includes the majority of the task force's many aviation and intelligence assets, is based at Balad Air Base between Samarra and Baghdad; the four elements that it controls, each commanded by a lieutenant colonel or equivalent, are spread across the country.
Task Force Center is probably co-located with TF 145's headquarters element at Balad, but it could also be based at Camp Liberty
, since it is responsible for the Baghdad region. TF Center is based around a direct-action squadron; the three Delta Force squadrons and SEAL Team 6 appear to rotate through this position. It is also supported by a rotating company-sized element of the 75th Ranger Regiment and elements of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. TF Center has taken casualties in the Yusufiya area, where one of its helicopters was shot down in spring 2006.
Task Force West is structured similarly to TF Center in that it has a company-sized force protection element from the 75th Rangers and is based around a battalion-sized direct action unit that can at any given time be a Delta Force squadron or Naval Special Warfare Development Group (known also as SEAL Team 6). It seems that these units rotate every three to four months. TF West is responsible for operations in Anbar, where it is known to have been active at various times in Fallujah
, Qaim, Husayba, and Ramadi
. It is likely that TF West is based either at Camp Asad or Camp Taqaddum.
Task Force North is organized differently: it is based around a full battalion of the 75th Rangers (the position rotates among the three battalions), with a company-sized element from Delta Force acting in support. It is possible that TF North is based anywhere from FOB Marez in Mosul
down to COB Speicher near Tikrit
.
) is based around a squadron of the British army's 22 Special Air Service Regiment, with integrated units from the Special Boat Service
and US 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force). It has participated in operations in the Baghdad area when British or Canadian hostages are involved. Operation Marlborough
in July 2005, when the SAS killed three insurgent would-be suicide bombers, was also carried out by this unit in the Iraqi capital. Sergeant Jon Hollingsworth
, killed in Iraq with the SAS, was decorated for his service in this unit.
Reportedly, TF Black has removed or killed 3,500 insurgents from the streets of Baghdad
. With the removal of these insurgents, the number of bombings has been reduced from 150 per month to about 2 per month. In October 2004, all SAS personnel in Iraq including Task Force Black were banned from handing over suspects to the US forces if the suspects were going to be taken to a US interrogation center due to the fact of the bad reputation those centers were getting. Another setback for the task force was during the Battle of Fallujah when the SAS was banned from going into the city alongside its American counterpart because of the pressure that the government was feeling from the unpopularity of the war..
United States Special Operations Forces
United States Special Operations Forces under United States Special Operations Command are active and reserve component forces of U.S. Military...
unit formed since 11 September 2001, of which little is publicly known. Described as a "hunter-killer team" with its core made up of Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
, 75th Ranger Regiment Rangers and DEVGRU
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group
The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group , commonly known as DEVGRU and informally by its former name SEAL Team Six , is one of the United States' four secretive counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units .The vast majority of information about DEVGRU is highly classified, and...
operators, Task Force 88 reportedly conducts covert operations against what the US government deems to be High-value targets in countries around the world. The unit was reported to be responsible for both the cross border raid into Syria from Iraq in October 2008 that resulted in eight deaths including Abu Ghadiya
Abu Ghadiya
Abu Ghadiya, born Badran Turki Hashim al-Mazidih sometime between 1977-1979 in Mosul, was a Sunni militant active with al-Qaeda in Iraq . He was primarily involved in the logistics of AQI's effort in Iraq and assisted in smuggling weapons, money and fighters across the Syria-Iraq border. He was...
and several US operations in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
targeting al Qaeda.
History as Task Force 145
This unit may be similar or identical to the British/American Task Force 145, which is similar or identical to Task Force 121Task Force 121
Task Force 121 is an example of the United States' 'Joint Task Force' concept of conducting special operations. TF121 is a multi-service force commanded by U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Gregory L. Trebon. The spearhead of the force is a forty-man team made up of operators from the U.S. Army's...
, which is similar or identical to Task Force 6-26
Task Force 6-26
Task Force 6–26 is a United States Joint military/Government Agency unit; originally set-up to find "High Value Targets" in Iraq in the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This Special Operation unit is very similar to Task Force 121 which was created to capture Saddam Hussein and high rank...
. These are most likely changing names for the same operational unit, which appears to have begun as Task Force 11
Task Force 11
-World War II:During World War II, Task Force 11 was a United States Navy aircraft carrier task force in the Pacific theater.TF 11 was originally formed around , then her sister ship until she was disabled by a Japanese torpedo in January 1942, then Lexington again for the Battle of the Coral...
immediately after the September 11 attacks.
Task Force 145, seemingly also associated with the designation Other Coalition Forces – Iraq (OCF-I), was a combined U.S. and British military special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
provisional grouping specifically charged with hunting down high-value al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and Iraqi leadership including Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and, prior to his death on 7 June 2006, Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a popular name for the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda. It is recognized as a part of the greater Iraqi insurgency....
leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
. It is a continuation of a temporary SF striking force that began as Task Force 11
Task Force 11
-World War II:During World War II, Task Force 11 was a United States Navy aircraft carrier task force in the Pacific theater.TF 11 was originally formed around , then her sister ship until she was disabled by a Japanese torpedo in January 1942, then Lexington again for the Battle of the Coral...
after the 11 September terrorist attacks, and has morphed through Task Force 121
Task Force 121
Task Force 121 is an example of the United States' 'Joint Task Force' concept of conducting special operations. TF121 is a multi-service force commanded by U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Gregory L. Trebon. The spearhead of the force is a forty-man team made up of operators from the U.S. Army's...
, Task Force 626
Task Force 6-26
Task Force 6–26 is a United States Joint military/Government Agency unit; originally set-up to find "High Value Targets" in Iraq in the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This Special Operation unit is very similar to Task Force 121 which was created to capture Saddam Hussein and high rank...
, Task Force 77 (not to be confused with Task Force 77 of the United States 7th Fleet
United States 7th Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
), and is now believed to be designated Task Force 88
Task Force 88 (anti-terror unit)
Task Force 88 is an American special operations unit formed since 11 September 2001, of which little is publicly known. Described as a "hunter-killer team" with its core made up of Delta Force, 75th Ranger Regiment Rangers and DEVGRU operators, Task Force 88 reportedly conducts covert operations...
. It is believed that the Task Force played a role in the medium altitude strike mission that killed al-Zarqawi just outside Baqubah
Baqubah
Baqubah is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate.The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated population of some 467,900 people....
. Generally speaking, the Task Force was charged with disrupting al-Qaeda operations in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
The action arm of the task force is made up of operators from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
, DEVGRU
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group
The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group , commonly known as DEVGRU and informally by its former name SEAL Team Six , is one of the United States' four secretive counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units .The vast majority of information about DEVGRU is highly classified, and...
, British Special Air Service," British Special Boat Service and soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
. Members of the CIA's elite Special Activities Division
Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...
paramilitary unit are also believed to be an important part of the group. Support elements include the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers), the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron
24th Special Tactics Squadron
The 24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the Special Tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command .-Disposition:Based at Pope Air Force Base the 24th STS is among the premier Special Tactics Squadrons in the Air Force....
, and British paratroopers from the Special Forces Support Group
Special Forces Support Group
The Special Forces Support Group or SFSG is a special operations unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to support the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service on operations. This could...
.
The unit was operating up until at least 2006–07; it is not clear whether it is still operational with the U.S. drawdown from Iraq.
Operations
The task force is noted as operating in a highly autonomous fashion. In the only known operation which they conducted it is said that they conducted several raids that did not require approval from higher authorities. The task force was also responsible for the elimination of Abu Musab al-ZarqawiAbu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
.
Over 18 months beginning in early 2007, the task force is reported to have arrested 3,500 terrorists in Baghdad and killed several hundred others. As a result, al Qaeda bomb attacks that were occurring on an average of 150 times and killing almost 3,000 people each month have been reduced to about two bombings each month. During the campaign, six SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
troops were killed and 30 injured.
During operations in Al-Anbar province, operatives of the task force made incursions into the insurgent controlled city of Haditha
Haditha
Haditha is a city in the western Iraqi Al Anbar Governorate, about 240 km northwest of Baghdad. It is a farming town situated on the Euphrates River at . Its population of around 100,000 people is predominantly Sunni Muslim Arabs...
, several times finding Zarqawi's hideouts and when raiding them found eggs, still cooking, just missing the terrorist leader. During this time, with this intelligence, they asked the commander of II MEF(FWD) to have to city of Haditha assaulted in order to flush him out. The general opted for the 3rd Bn 1st Marines, experienced in heavy fighting from Operation Phantom Fury, to assault the city.
It is not clear what the reduced U.S. military role following the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement and associated drawdown to purely advisory operations has had on the task force's operations.
Organization
(see Iraq War order of battleIraq War order of battle
Below is a estimate of the list of the major units deployed with the Multi-National Force - Iraq and other U.S. military units operating in Iraq under United States Central Command . It has been compiled through the synthesis of many many wikipedia contributors in the years 2006-2009...
)
- Task Force 77 (formerly Task Force 145) – LSA Anaconda, Balad
- TF Black – Elements, 22 SAS, Special Forces Support GroupSpecial Forces Support GroupThe Special Forces Support Group or SFSG is a special operations unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to support the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service on operations. This could...
, some SBSSpecial Boat ServiceThe Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
operators are thought to be attached to TF Black—Based in headquarters known as 'the Station', within Baghdad's green zone - TF North/Red rotating battalion, 75th Ranger RegimentUnited States Army RangersUnited States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
– unknown location, northern Iraq - TF West/Blue rotating squadron, Naval Special Warfare Development Group – unknown location, western Iraq
- TF Center/Green rotating squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – DeltaDelta Force1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
supported by an element of the 75th – LSA Anaconda - TF Orange – detachments of various intelligence agencies including the Intelligence Support ActivityIntelligence Support ActivityThe United States Army Intelligence Support Activity , frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity or ISA, and nicknamed The Activity is a United States Army Special Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and Security Command...
(ISA)
- TF Black – Elements, 22 SAS, Special Forces Support Group
- This unit may have been renamed as Task Force 88Task Force 88Task Force 88 may refer to:* Operation Argus: 1950s nuclear weapons test program* Task Force 88 : c.2007 onwards U.S. Joint Special Operations Command high-value target strike unit, Iraq/Afghanistan etc...
at some point before February 2008.
Organization as of October 2006
TF 145, or TF 88 as it may now be known, is commanded by a colonel (the commanding officer of the Army's Delta ForceDelta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
) and is based at five locations across Iraq. Its task organization draws on every unit of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as well as on the CIA's
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
Special Activities Division
Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...
and British special operations forces.
The headquarters element, which includes the majority of the task force's many aviation and intelligence assets, is based at Balad Air Base between Samarra and Baghdad; the four elements that it controls, each commanded by a lieutenant colonel or equivalent, are spread across the country.
Task Force Center is probably co-located with TF 145's headquarters element at Balad, but it could also be based at Camp Liberty
Camp Liberty
Camp Liberty is a large coalition military installation located northeast of the Baghdad International Airport and is part of the U.S. military's Victory Base Complex . It was formerly known as Camp Victory North and renamed in mid-September 2004, as part of an effort to give U.S...
, since it is responsible for the Baghdad region. TF Center is based around a direct-action squadron; the three Delta Force squadrons and SEAL Team 6 appear to rotate through this position. It is also supported by a rotating company-sized element of the 75th Ranger Regiment and elements of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. TF Center has taken casualties in the Yusufiya area, where one of its helicopters was shot down in spring 2006.
Task Force West is structured similarly to TF Center in that it has a company-sized force protection element from the 75th Rangers and is based around a battalion-sized direct action unit that can at any given time be a Delta Force squadron or Naval Special Warfare Development Group (known also as SEAL Team 6). It seems that these units rotate every three to four months. TF West is responsible for operations in Anbar, where it is known to have been active at various times in Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
, Qaim, Husayba, and Ramadi
Ramadi
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad. It is the capital of Al Anbar Governorate.-History:Ramadi is located in a fertile, irrigated, alluvial plain.The Ottoman Empire founded Ramadi in 1869...
. It is likely that TF West is based either at Camp Asad or Camp Taqaddum.
Task Force North is organized differently: it is based around a full battalion of the 75th Rangers (the position rotates among the three battalions), with a company-sized element from Delta Force acting in support. It is possible that TF North is based anywhere from FOB Marez in Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
down to COB Speicher near Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
.
Task Force Black
Based in the Baghdad area, TF Black (which was supported by Parachute Regiment members of the Special Forces Support GroupSpecial Forces Support Group
The Special Forces Support Group or SFSG is a special operations unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to support the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service on operations. This could...
) is based around a squadron of the British army's 22 Special Air Service Regiment, with integrated units from the Special Boat Service
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
and US 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force). It has participated in operations in the Baghdad area when British or Canadian hostages are involved. Operation Marlborough
Operation Marlborough
Operation Marlborough was the code name of a mission carried out by a British-American Special Air Service sniper team from Task Force Black, along with US Tier One Special Operations units such as Delta Force, in Baghdad, Iraq in July 2005. The team consisted of a 16-man SAS group, including 4...
in July 2005, when the SAS killed three insurgent would-be suicide bombers, was also carried out by this unit in the Iraqi capital. Sergeant Jon Hollingsworth
Jon Hollingsworth
Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth CGC, QGMDescribed as "an SAS hero" by a British tabloid newspaper, the former paratrooper reportedly sustained gunshot wounds during a raid to capture terror leaders in Basra and later died of his injuries at a nearby military hospital.Sources suggest he had been...
, killed in Iraq with the SAS, was decorated for his service in this unit.
Reportedly, TF Black has removed or killed 3,500 insurgents from the streets of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. With the removal of these insurgents, the number of bombings has been reduced from 150 per month to about 2 per month. In October 2004, all SAS personnel in Iraq including Task Force Black were banned from handing over suspects to the US forces if the suspects were going to be taken to a US interrogation center due to the fact of the bad reputation those centers were getting. Another setback for the task force was during the Battle of Fallujah when the SAS was banned from going into the city alongside its American counterpart because of the pressure that the government was feeling from the unpopularity of the war..
Further reading
- Michael SmithMichael Smith-Music:* Michael Joseph Smith , British saxophonist in the pop band Amen Corner* Michael Joseph Smith , jazz composer & performer* Michael Peter Smith , American songwriter and performer...
, 'Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team,' 2008 - Mark UrbanMark UrbanMark Urban is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and orientalist, and is currently the Diplomatic Editor for BBC Two's Newsnight.-Education and early career:...
, 'Task Force Black,' 2010 - How arrests led to rescue for Sooden. (2006). Lexisnexis . Retrieved (2010, 13 September) from http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
- Eaton, D. (2006). Troops stormed hostage hideout. Lexisnexis . Retrieved (2010, 13 September) from http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
- Cuomo, C, McNiff, E, & ABC News Law and Justice Unit, . (2006, 9 June). The Men in the shadows—hunting al-zarqawi. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/US/Terrorism/Story?id=2056386&page=1
External links
- http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/tf-145.htm Task Force 145- GlobalSecurity.org
- Brian Ross, Secret U.S. task force changes its name, again, The Blotter, ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, 12 June 2006 - Mark BowdenMark BowdenNot to be confused with Mark Bowden, U.N. Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Somalia.Mark Robert Bowden is an American writer and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he is a 1973 graduate of Loyola University Maryland...
, The Ploy, Atlantic Monthly, May 2007 - Bill Roggio, The Black Guards, Long War Journal, September 2006