Special Forces Missions That Did Not Go Exactly to Plan

The Peruvian security forces managed to smuggle bugging devices into the residence. With such listening devices in place the Special Forces were able to carefully monitor the hostage-taker’s routine. The security forces also tunnelled into the back garden of the ambassador’s residence. Commandos then attacked the building in force. They used a mixture of explosives and ladders during the militants regular afternoon football games and taking the hostage-takers by surprise.

All but one of the hostages were freed. One unfortunately died during the battle. Two of the commandos were killed and all of the MRTA group were gunned down.

Operation Barras

24 year old Foday Kallay was the leader of the West Side Boys – a rebel group of soldiers. This group were responsible for taking hostage eleven men of the British Army’s Royal Irish Regiment who were on patrol in the Occra Hills.

Five of the British soldiers were released just a few days later. However the game changed as Kallay threatened to kill the remaining six men and also slay the Sierra Leone-an liaison officer who was captured with them. The British decided to send in a select team of Special Forces to rescue the held troops. A group made up of the Parachute Regiment, the SAS and the Special Boat Service (SBS) went on to carry out an early-morning raid on Kallay’s position and men.

The rescue team arrived in six helicopters and the hostages were extracted successfully in just 20 minutes. The 24 year old leader,Foday Kallay, was captured. Unfortunately one SAS member was killed during the daring rescue mission.

The Moscow Theatre Siege

800 people were taken hostage in a Moscow Theatre when armed militants demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. The militants were deadly serious and had explosives strapped to their bodies. The hostage-takers also made threats to kill hostages after only a week.

Tensions were running high and the Russian government were under pressure to end the siege as quickly as possible. Then on the third day Russian special forces began to act. They pumped the theatre full of anaesthetic gas in order to quickly immobilise and disorientate the hostage-takers. They waited for 30 minutes and then stormed the theatre.

Despite a majority of the hostage-takers being incapacitated, a deadly firefight followed. 40 of the hostage-takers were gunned down. But amongst the turmoil over 129 hostages also died. But their deaths weren’t from being caught in the crossfire of bullets – but due to the effects of the gas.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, publicly thanked the special forces troops for their bravery and asked the Russian people – and the world – for forgiveness for not being able to save more of the hostages.

Operation Jaque

In a bizarre operation, Colombian soldiers were reported to have taken acting classes before embarking on their daring mission to rescue the former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, 11 members of the Colombian security services and three US military contractors being held by the rebel group calling themselves the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

The acting classes were to prepare to pose as either television reporters or actual members of this non-governmental rebel group.

The plan actually worked, with the rebel leader falling for the trick. By trusting the infiltrators, the leader of the rebels allowed the hostages to board a waiting helicopter. He was duped into thinking the hostages were to be taken to meet the Farc leader, Alfonso Cano. The rebel leading the group actually boarded the helicopter himself thinking he was also on his way to meet Cano. Another rebel also boarded the helicopter and both were immediately disarmed and then secured.

The rescue was a complete success and the name of the operation, “Operation Jaque” comes from the Spanish word “checkmate” in the game of chess.