The Mahari Desert Patrol: Tunisia’s desert raiders

Editor’s note: This article was written by Louis Tayler and originally published on Grey Dynamics. Deep in the South of Tunisia, the Groupement Territorial Saharien (GTS), a part of the Tunisian Army, protects the border areas and remote deserts of Tunisia from all who may do Tunisia harm. This includes terrorists, smugglers, those crossing borders […]

The Special Operations world of Sub-Saharan Africa

It is common knowledge that warfare has greatly evolved in our times: from the strategic to the operational and tactical levels, from training and equipment to mission statements and structure. Indeed, literally every facet of warfare has seen close to a complete doctrinal overhaul. A good number of countries across the globe have firsthand experienced […]

One year ago, the French Special Operations community lost two of its best

On the evening hours of May 11, 2019, French frogmen from the elite Commando Hubert conducted a daring hostage rescue operation in Burkina Faso. The operation was successful as the four hostages, two French, one South Korean, and one American, were rescued. However, two French commandos died from enemy fire. The two commandos were identified […]

French Legionnaires die in the Sahel fighting Jihadists

Two French Legionnaires have died from wounds sustained while fighting Islamic extremists in Mali. Brigadier Dymyto Martynyouk was part of a mounted patrol when his armored vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on April 23. His wounds were severe enough and couldn’t be treated in-theater. He was evacuated to France where he, unfortunately, died in […]

Irish top Special Operations unit returns from Africa

The Irish Government has ordered the return of the country’s top Special Operators from Mali despite the qualms of the United Nations. The small contingent, approximately 14 men, of the Army Ranger Wing (ARW), Ireland’s Tier 1 Special Operations unit, have been on the ground in Mali for approximately four months. Their main purpose there […]

Breaking down the British elite forces: The Royal Marine Commandos (RM)

In a recent series, we examined the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) spectrum. In this series, we’ll review the elite components within the conventional British forces. We will start with one of the U.K.’s most renowned units: the Royal Marines, an elite amphibious commando force of the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines (RM), or Bootnecks […]

40 years ago the British SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy and became world famous

On April 30, 1980, 6 men approached the Iranian Embassy at Princes Gate, in South Kensington, London. They were Arabs, members of a little known dissident group called the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan, an oil-rich area of Iran that had ruled itself autonomously until 1925. Their goals were to reestablish independence […]

Working with Shayetet 13, one of the world’s top Naval Special Operations units

On any given day, there’s a decent chance you’ll hear something about Israel in the mainstream media. It’s a hotbed of conflict and religious extremism. No matter how you look at it, Israel is in a constant state of war. My co-worker, Steve Balestrieri, just published an article about Israel possibly “removing” a Syrian General. […]

Greek Navy SEALs receive Special Operations boats from the US

The U.S. Navy officially transferred four Mark V Special Operations Craft (MK V SOC) to the Hellenic Navy last week. The four boats, which have been assigned to the Hellenic Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams/Navy SEALs (ΜΥΚ), will have to undergo maintenance and refitting before they can requalify as operational. The MK V SOC packs two […]

Indian commandos suffer heavy casualties in hand-to-hand skirmish with terrorists

Five Indian commandos were killed during a skirmish with terrorists who have infiltrated India’s part of Kashmir. According to the Indian Army, the hand-to-hand battle took place in the Keran sector in North Kashmir on April 1. Five terrorists have managed to navigate the border fence (the Line of Control, as it’s known) that divides […]

Afghan intelligence operators capture the leader of ISIS in Afghanistan

The Afghan government announced that its security forces arrested the leader of the Islamic State in Afghanistan in an operation. Abdullah Orakzai, also known as Aslam Farooqi, was captured by operators from Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghani intelligence service and a rough equivalent of the CIA but with greater emphasis on domestic duties. […]

French Special Operations task force grows as Estonia commits commandos

Estonian commandos are the latest to join a French-led Special Operations task force that will deploy in Africa in the upcoming summer to fight Islamic extremists. The deployment of the Estonian commandos was first reported by the Defense Post back in 2019. Then, an Estonian Defense Ministry spokesperson had stated that the country’s contribution to […]