Special Troops Ready to Search and Destroy

U.S. special operations forces trained to mount clandestine attacks are deployed on an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea and are ready to launch operations in Afghanistan any time, a defense official said Wednesday.

The commandos have been aboard the carrier Kitty Hawk for several days, the official said, though he declined to discuss where they came from or other aspects of their mission.

U.S. officials have said repeatedly that special operations troops will soon begin reconnaissance work and search and destroy missions against Saudi militant Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda guerrilla network and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime.

There have been previous reports that some U.S. commandos have already been on the ground in Afghanistan on reconnaissance missions.

The Kitty Hawk, based in Japan, had a large portion of its aircraft removed recently so that it could steam to the Arabian Sea to take on special operations helicopters. The carrier is functioning as a mobile air base because of the political sensitivity of basing assault forces in any country neighboring Afghanistan.

The missions are likely to be highly risky, since they will involve moving through territory about which the U.S. forces have limited intelligence. The missions also will involve traveling long distances by helicopter.

In the last two days, U.S. forces have begun deploying a ground attack aircraft, the AC-130, that is often used to provide covering fire for special forces. The plane has a 25-millimeter Gatling gun and 40-millimeter and 105-millimeter cannons.