(Guardian-UK) Julian Borger - Israeli advisers are helping train U.S. special forces in aggressive counter-insurgency operations in Iraq, U.S. intelligence and military sources said Monday. The IDF has sent urban warfare specialists to Fort Bragg, home of U.S. special forces, and according to two sources, Israeli military "consultants" have also visited Iraq. U.S. special forces teams are already behind the lines inside Syria attempting to kill foreign jihadists before they cross the border, and a group focused on the "neutralization" of guerrilla leaders is being set up, according to sources familiar with the operations. In a letter to Army magazine in July, Brig. Gen. Michael Vane, deputy chief of staff at the army's training and doctrine command, wrote: "We recently travelled to Israel to glean lessons learned from their counterterrorist operations in urban areas." An Israeli official said the IDF regularly shared its experience in the West Bank and Gaza with the U.S. armed forces.
2003-12-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive