ANTI-TERRORIST TEAM

Much has been written about the SAS and their role in the anti-terrorist war. This role is characteristic of the modern SAS image and is certainly the area of operation that grabs the most media coverage. Governments began to look seriously at ways of combating the new breed of terrorism after the atrocity at the Munich Olympics in 1972. At the international G7 talks which followed, the heads of government made a secret pact to build up dedicated domestic forces capable of dealing with any terrorist situation, and to co-operate with each other in their training and operations.

In Britain, the SAS was given the task of equipping and training the new force that was to become the anti-terrorist team. The concept of combating people who would gladly risk their own lives to further their cause required a fresh approach right from the start. The equipment was new, the tactics were new and the SAS responded to the training with unmatched enthusiasm.

Today, the SAS provides one of the best anti-terrorist teams in the world. Its techniques and equipment have been tried and tested in operations ranging from the Lufthansa airliner hijack in Mogadishu in 1977 to the Iranian Embassy siege in London in 1980. These special skills have been exported and used to train anti-terrorist teams of many other nations.

Anti-terrorist team member enters a building