- 055 Brigade
The 055 Brigade was an elite
guerrilla organization sponsored and trained byAl Qaeda that was integrated into theTaliban army between 1995 and 2001. [http://www.spectacle.org/0404/swazo.html] It comprised mostly foreign guerrilla fighters from theMiddle-East ,Central Asia andSouth-East Asia whom had some form of combat experience, either fighting the Soviet invasion during the 1980s or elsewhere.They were equipped with weapons left behind by the
Soviets , as well as those provided by theSudan i and Taliban governments. The Brigade was also the beneficiary of Al Qaeda's worldwide network of procurement officers who obtained sophisticated equipment includingsatellite phone s,night vision goggles, and evenairplane s.Reports from "Time" magazine indicate that members of the 055 Brigade were often deployed in smaller groups to help reinforce regular Afghan members of Taliban. This was often achieved via threats or intimidation designed to enforce discipline and a commitment to the
mujahedin philosophy .Estimates on the strength of the 055 Brigade vary, however it is generally believed that at its peak it comprised somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 personnel. The 055 Brigade suffered heavy losses during the 2001 war in Afghanistan and many were captured by the
United States . Those that survived retreated withOsama bin Laden to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area where they regrouped with the intention of waging a protracted campaign.Further reading
*cite book | title = Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror | author = Rohan Gunaratna | year = 2002 | publisher =
Columbia University Press | isbn = 0231126921
*cite book | title = Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden | author =Peter Bergen | year = 2001 | publisher =Simon and Schuster | isbn = 0743234677External links
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011105-181591,00.html Secrets of Brigade 055] -
Time Magazine
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/27/afghanistan.terrorism6 The elite force who are ready to die] -The Guardian ee also
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Afghan Arabs
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