Reuters August 07, 2003
Shadowy U.S. Task Force 20 stalks Saddam in Iraq
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A shadowy unit of elite troops is leading the hunt in Iraq for Saddam Hussein, who remains a step ahead of his pursuers four months after being driven from power.
The U.S. military is tight-lipped about the activities of Task Force 20, whose commandos were involved in the July 22 raid in Mosul in which Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were killed and now are stalking the missing former president.
But a senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Task Force 20 as "a multi-service special forces unit."
The official said it tracks "high-value targets," meaning Saddam and his inner circle, and during the war was responsible for securing Iraq's expansive western desert and also involved in the fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction.
Analysts said Task Force 20 comprises perhaps 750-1,500 troops, drawn from several established units under the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Its commandos have taken part in raids in and around Saddam's hometown Tikrit, the capital Baghdad and elsewhere, but so far have failed to locate him.
Like other nations, the United States maintains elite units for hostage rescues, counter-terrorism operations and missions requiring few troops using stealth and speed.
DELTA FORCE
The Army's Delta Force appears to be at the heart of Task Force 20, with contributions from Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) teams and other units, said Patrick Garrett, an analyst with the Globalsecurity.org defense think tank.
Garrett said Task Force 20 may be headquartered at Baghdad international airport, probably with forward operating positions around Tikrit. In Tikrit, members of the task force show up periodically at a local barracks, with stubbly faces and scruffy civilian clothes, saying nothing.
A Reuters reporter on the scene when the Army's Third Infantry Division arrived at the airport in April before the fall of Baghdad saw members of Task Force 20 already in place. They wore traditional Arab headdresses, trousers and black T-shirts, drove in modified Humvees and carried M16 rifles.
Delta Force, based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and comprised of volunteers mainly from the 82nd Airborne Division, Green Berets and Rangers, was created in 1977 and has performed difficult and sometimes disastrous missions.
For example, eight Americans were killed in April 1980 when a transport plane collided with a helicopter at a spot in Iran dubbed Desert One in a botched Delta Force mission to rescue hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
Michael Vickers, a former Army Special Forces and CIA officer and an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said CIA paramilitary operatives may be working alongside Task Force 20, but it was unlikely they comprised a formal part of the unit.
"The agency doesn't like to have their people under military command," Vickers said.
© Copyright 2003, Reuters
