Kiwis could swoop on bin Laden's men

By EUGENE BINGHAM

Elite New Zealand soldiers could be called upon to help capture Osama bin Laden's men as part of the American war on terrorism.

Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers on standby to join the military response to last week's terrorist attacks have built an international reputation through their joint operations and exercises with overseas units, including the British SAS and the United States Special Forces.

The regiment, based at the Hobsonville air base in Auckland, is split into two squadrons.

One specialises in counter-terrorism and the other in longer-range infiltration and reconnaissance.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has indicated that the SAS may be sent to help the American effort.

But she said it was not clear what their role would be.

British troops are reported to be preparing for a role in any American operation to capture bin Laden, using an elite force to snatch him from Afghanistan once his location has been pinpointed by allied satellite and ground intelligence networks.

The Daily Telegraph quoted British SAS sources as saying that New Zealand and Australian SAS could be drafted into the operation.

The New Zealanders are known to be expert trackers and are often called upon to train their international counterparts in this skill, a source said yesterday.

They have been trained in the ability to land behind enemy lines and survive undetected with the aid of a range of weapons and communications equipment such as small, portable satellite units.

Members learn how to skirt across borders, or drop into position by parachutes or from helicopters.

Should the SAS be deployed, it will be the biggest publicly known operation since the regiment headed the arrival of a multinational force in East Timor.

A small unit went to the Gulf in 1998 for potential combat rescue missions in Iraq, and three soldiers fought with the British SAS in the Gulf War.

One member of the regiment, Major John McNutt, was killed in March by a misdirected US bomb in Kuwait where he was part of a multinational taskforce monitoring the border.

Helen Clark has set up a committee of ministers with the power to decide at short notice the level of New Zealand involvement in any strike.

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