Operation Trent was a major SAS raid in southern Afghanistan during November 2001.
After the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers, British Intelligence identified a major Al-Qaeda facility.
Here is all you need to know about SAS Operation Trent.
Operation Trent
Location
The operation took place at an al-Qaeda facility in the Registan Desert of Helmand/Kandahar province, around 150–250 kilometres south-west of Kandahar.
The site operated as an opium-processing plant and fortified base for foreign fighters. It was protected by trenches, bunkers and an estimated 80–100 armed fighters.
The mission
Operation Trent was a large-scale direct-action raid by 22 SAS during the opening phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Its objectives were to destroy the opium stockpiles and processing equipment, kill or capture enemy fighters, and recover intelligence from documents and computers.
The mission was also intended to demonstrate that the SAS could conduct a complex operation deep inside hostile territory.
The insertion
An eight-man patrol from G Squadron’s Air Troop carried out the SAS’s first wartime HALO jump into enemy territory.
The patrol jumped from a C-130 Hercules at around 20,000–28,000 feet before landing in the desert. It secured and marked a temporary landing zone, allowing six C-130s to unload the main assault force in two waves.
Around 120 operators from A Squadron and G Squadron then travelled approximately 150 kilometres across the desert in about 36–38 vehicles.
The assault
G Squadron established a fire-support base and engaged the defenders with heavy machine-gun and anti-tank fire.
US aircraft bombed the opium stores and buildings, while A Squadron assaulted the compound and cleared its bunkers and trenches.
The SAS recovered documents and at least two laptops containing intelligence about al-Qaeda networks.
The outcome
The opium plant and its stockpiles, valued at tens of millions of pounds, were destroyed and the enemy position was overrun.
The SAS suffered no fatalities, although four operators were wounded and evacuated by US Chinook helicopters.
Enemy casualties were estimated at between 18 and 73 killed, with many more wounded or scattered; some accounts recorded 18 prisoners being taken.
Read more
All you need to know about SAS officer Jim Almonds the former prisoner of war
All you need to know about SAS commanding officer Sir Mark Carleton-Smith
All you need to know about SAS officer Edward Butler
Legacy
Operation Trent became the largest known SAS operation since the Second World War and marked the regiment’s first wartime HALO insertion.
It demonstrated the SAS’s ability to carry out large, joint air-landed raids alongside US forces, helping establish a template for later missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Operation Trent remains noted for its scale, daring insertion and significant intelligence haul.
Share