EXCLUSIVE: Special forces have been on ‘high alert’ over fears terrorists could carry out a similar attack to the Manchester Synagogue attack that took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest Jewish holiday
SAS counter terrorist teams have been placed on high alert amid fears that the Manchester Synagogue stabbing could lead to a series of copycat attacks by radicals across the UK. Intelligence sources have said that the potential of similar attacks is regarded as high and all special forces counter- terrorist teams have been placed on standby.
The special forces response will be led by two teams from the SAS’s counter terrorist unit which have been placed on “immediate notice to move”. One source last night said: “MI5 and the police are urgently trying to establish whether this was a one-off incident by a lone wolf attacker or part of a wider terrorist plot.
“The possibility that copy cat attacks could take place across the country is a major concern. The SAS will be ready to deal with any further attacks and have been training exactly for this type of scenario in recent months.
“Since the conflict in Gaza exploded the possibility of an attack against the Jewish community in the UK has been on the cards. This is just the first. There will be others.”
The moves come after Syrian born Jihad Al-Shamie carried out an attack at a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday which left two Jewish people dead.
The 35-year-old Brit drove a car at people outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue before attacking bystanders with a knife. He was shot dead by police at the scene.
A military source told the Daily Star Sunday: “The SAS have been preparing to deal with events like the Manchester attack for years.
They have developed techniques to take out suicide bombers and stop vehicles being used as weapons. As soon as any intelligence emerges of another attack the SAS teams will deploy directly into that area and take out the terrorists.”
The SAS’s counter terrorist unit is composed of two teams called Red and Blue team, composed of around 25 troops each.
The unit is located at the SAS’s headquarter in Hereford but can deploy across the country by a special RAF helicopter unit known as Blue Thunder. But it is understood that one of the two teams has already deployed to another location in the UK so that it can respond to attacks even more quickly,
Both counter terrorist teams can operate independently or together, depending on the situation at hand.
Each team is composed of a command element, assaulters, medics handler and a special forces trained bomb disposal unit known as an Alpha team. The teams are also trained in hostage rescue situations and explosive entry. Each unit also contains up to six snipers equipped with high powered rifles.
The teams will also be accompanied by SAS troops trained to work with special forces dogs – Belgian Shepherds – known as land sharks.
The SAS’s counter-terrorist teams work closely with the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Firearms Command, known as MO19.
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