Operation Trent

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Operation Trent
Part of the
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
DateMid to Late November 2001
Location
Koh-I-Malik Mountain, Registan Desert, Helmand/Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Result Coalition Victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom
United States United States		 Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan[1]
al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom Ed Butler Unknown
Strength

United Kingdom 100–140 SAS Operators

United States At least 6 C-130 Hercules
4 F-18 Hornets[2]
2 F-14 Tomcats[2]		 60 or 80–100
Casualties and losses
4 wounded

18–73 killed

several dozen wounded and captured

Operation Trent was an operation by

Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A).[3][4]

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 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 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 (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.[3][5]

Prelude

After political intersession with

Lieutenant Colonel Ed Butler, 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.[3][1][4] 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.[2] Sources vary on number of SAS members involved in the operation, 100 being the lowest[7] 120[8] and 140 being the highest[1]

Operation

Insertion

The mission began in November 2001, with an 8-man patrol from G Sqn's Air Troop performing a

Barrett M82A1 sniper rifles, (from a position 0.50 mi (0.8 km) 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.[3][1][6][8][9][2]

Assault

The assault began with a preparatory air-strike:

Vulcan cannon, narrowly missing several members of G Sqn.[3][1][6][8]

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.

First World War, 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."[7]

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).[3][6][8][11] 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.[10][1][6][8] 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 to extract their wounded, while the rest were extracted by C-130 Hercules from a TLZ (Temporary Landing Zone).[3][6][8][2]

Aftermath

The 4 wounded SAS operators' injuries were not life-threatening.[3] The lowest number of al-Qaeda terrorists and Taliban fighters killed is 18;[12] other sources put the figure at 73 al-Qaeda killed.[7] Several dozen more were wounded and captured, though no high level al-Qaeda leadership were among those killed or captured.[12] 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;[8][2] the strategic significance of the facility has never fully been explained.[3] 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 Crosses.[13]

Date of the operation

Most sources place the operation in November (specifically between mid and late November) of that year,[3][7][5][12][6] however some sources say the operation took place in December.[9][14] One source gives the date as 22 November.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0786718269
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1843582908
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4728-0790-8
    , pp.69-72
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0300182743
    ., p.73
  5. ^ a b Finlan, Alastair , Special Forces, Strategy and the War on Terror: Warfare By Other Means (Cass Military Studies) , Routledge, 2009
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1846033100
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0415758871
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-1780337852
  9. ^ a b Neville, Leigh, Special Operations Patrol Vehicles: Afghanistan and Iraq (New Vanguard), Osprey Publishing, 2011
  10. ^ a b "Special Air Service (SAS) - Operation Trent". Elite UK Forces. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  11. ISBN 978-1472814036
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-1851094028
  13. ISBN 978-0718153991
  14. ISBN 978-1405006453

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