AUSTRALIAN special forces soldiers have been serving in highly secretive American and British hit squads in Afghanistan, and some have served with the US unit whose troops killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan this week.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that since 2001, Australians from the SAS and Commando regiments have served on ''third country deployments'' and in turn have fought alongside some of the most highly classified and best-trained combat groups in Afghanistan. Crucially, the Australian troops have been refused permission to participate in cross-border raids into Pakistan.
The so-called ''capture or kill'' squads ramped up their pursuit of senior insurgent leaders under the Obama administration, especially after US General David Petraeus took command in Afghanistan last year. They do not operate under NATO's protocols and rules of engagement, rather they fight under the banner of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom, which gives them ''greater freedom of action'', according to an Australian source.
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