Editing Counterterrorism (section)

== Counterterrorist operations ==
Some counterterrorist actions of the 20th and 21st centuries are listed below. See [[list of hostage crises]] for a more extended list, including hostage-takings that did not end violently.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-size:95%;"
<caption>Representative counterterrorist operations</caption>
|- valign="top"
! colspan=2|Incident
! Main locale
! Hostage nationality
! Kidnappers<br />/hijackers
! Counterterrorist force
! width=300 | Results
|- valign="top"
| 1972 ||[[Sabena Flight 571]]
|[[Tel Aviv-Lod International Airport]], Israel
| Mixed
| [[Black September (group)|Black September]]
| [[Sayeret Matkal]]
| 2 hijackers killed, 1 passenger died from wounds during raid. 2 passengers and 1 commando injured. 2 kidnappers captured. All other 96 passengers rescued.
|- valign="top"
| 1972 ||[[Munich massacre]]
|[[Munich]], [[West Germany]]
| Israeli
| [[Black September (group)|Black September]]
| [[Bundesgrenzschutz|German Federal Border Guard]]
| All hostages murdered; 5 kidnappers and 1 West German police officer killed. 3 kidnappers captured and released. This fatal result was the reason for the foundation of the German special counterterrorism unit [[GSG9]]
|- valign="top"
| 1975 ||[[1975 AIA building hostage crisis|AIA building hostage crisis]]
| AIA building, [[Kuala Lumpur]], Malaysia
| Mixed. American and Swedish
| [[Japanese Red Army]]
| [[Pasukan Gerakan Khas#UTK|Special Actions Unit]]
| All hostages released, all kidnappers flown to Libya.
|- valign="top"
| 1976 ||[[Operation Entebbe]]
|[[Entebbe airport]], Uganda
| Israelis and Jews. Non-Jewish hostages were released shortly after capture.
| [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|PFLP]]
| [[Sayeret Matkal]], Sayeret Tzanhanim, Sayeret Golani
| All 7 hijackers, 45 Ugandan troops, 3 hostages, and 1 Israeli soldier were killed. 103 hostages rescued.
|- valign="top"
| 1977 ||[[Lufthansa Flight 181]]
| Initially over the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] 
[[Mediterranean Sea|Sea]], south of [[French Riviera|the French coast]];

subsequently [[Mogadishu International Airport]], [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]]
| Mixed
| [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|PFLP]]
| [[GSG 9]], [[Special Air Service]] consultants
| 1 hostage killed before the raid; 3 hijackers killed and 1 captured. 90 hostages rescued.
|- valign="top"
| 1980 || Casa Circondariale di Trani [[Prison riot]]{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}
| [[Trani, Apulia|Trani]], Italy
| Italian
| [[Red Brigades]]
| [[Gruppo di intervento speciale]] (GIS)
| 18 police officers rescued, all terrorists captured.
|- valign="top"
| 1980 ||[[Iranian Embassy siege]]
|London, UK
| Mostly Iranian but some British
| [[Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan|Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan]]
| [[Special Air Service]]
| 5 kidnappers killed, 1 kidnapper captured. 1 hostage killed prior to raid, 1 hostage killed by kidnapper during raid; 24 hostages rescued. 1 SAS operative received minor burns.
|- valign="top"
|1979-1981  ||[[Iran hostage crisis]]
|[[Tehran]], [[Iran]]
| Americans
| [[Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line]]
| [[United States Army Special Forces]], [[Delta Force]], [[75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger)]], [[Special Activities Center|CIA Special Activities Division]], [[1st Special Operations Wing]]
| 8 US servicemen killed & 4 injured 1 Iranian civilian (alleged by Iranian Army) killed in [[Operation Eagle Claw]]. Negotiation finished in 1981. 53 hostages released.
|- valign="top"
| 1981 ||[[Garuda Indonesia Flight 206]]
|[[Don Mueang International Airport|Don Mueang Airport]], [[Bangkok]], Thailand
| Mostly Indonesian, some Europeans/Americans
| [[Komando Jihad]]
| [[Kopassus]] assault group, [[Royal Thai Air Force|RTAF]] securing perimeter
| 5 hijackers killed (2 likely killed extrajudicially after raid),1 Kopassus operative killed, 1 pilot fatally wounded by terrorist, all hostages rescued.
|- valign="top"
| 1982 
| [[Operation Winter Harvest]] 
| [[Padua]], Italy
| American
| [[Red Brigades]]
| [[Intelligence Support Activity| U.S. Army Intelligence Support Activity]] (ISA), [[Delta Force]] and [[Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza]] (NOCS)
| Hostage saved, capture of the entire terrorist cell.
|- valign="top"
| 1983 ||[[1983 Turkish embassy attack in Lisbon|Turkish embassy attack]]
| [[Lisbon]], Portugal
| Turkish
| [[Armenian Revolutionary Army]]
| [[Grupo de Operações Especiais (Portugal)|GOE]]
| 5 hijackers, 1 hostage, and 1 police officer killed, 1 hostage and 1 police officer wounded.
|- valign="top"
| 1985 ||[[Achille Lauro hijacking|''Achille Lauro'' hijacking]]
|[[MS Achille Lauro|MS ''Achille Lauro'']] off the Egyptian coast
| Mixed
|[[Palestine Liberation Organization]]
|[[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]], [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEALs]] turned over to [[Italian special forces]] ([[Gruppo di intervento speciale]])
| 1 hostage killed during hijacking, 4 hijackers convicted in Italy
|- valign="top"
| 1986 || [[Pudu Prison siege]]
| Pudu Prison, [[Kuala Lumpur]], Malaysia
| Two doctors
| Prisoners
| [[Pasukan Gerakan Khas#UTK|Special Actions Unit]]
| 6 kidnappers captured, 2 hostages rescued
|- valign="top"
| 1988 ||[[Mothers Bus]]
| Hijacked between [[Beer Sheva]] and [[Dimona]], Israel
| 11 passengers
| [[Palestinian Liberation Organization]]
|[[YAMAM]]
| 3 hijacker killed, 3 hostages killed, 8 hostages rescued
|- valign="top"
| 1993 ||[[Indian Airlines Flight 427]]
| Hijacked between Delhi and [[Srinagar]], India
| 141 passengers
| Islamic terrorist (Mohammed Yousuf Shah)
|[[National Security Guard]]
| 1 hijacker killed, all hostages rescued.
|-
|1994
|[[Air France Flight 8969]]
|[[Marseille]], France
|Mixed
|[[Armed Islamic Group of Algeria]]
|[[GIGN]]
|4 hijackers killed. 3 hostages killed before the raid, 229 hostages rescued
|- valign="top"
| 1996 ||[[Japanese embassy hostage crisis]]
|[[Lima]], Peru
| Japanese and guests (800+)
| [[Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement]]
|[[Peruvian Armed Forces|Peruvian military]] and [[Law enforcement in Peru|police]] mixed forces
| All 14 kidnappers, 1 hostage, and 2 rescuers killed.
|- valign="top"
| 1996 ||[[Mapenduma hostage crisis]]
|[[Jayawijaya Regency|Mapenduma]], Indonesia
|Mixed (19 Indonesians, 4 British, 2 Dutch, & 1 German)
|[[Kelly Kwalik]]'s [[Free Papua Movement]] (OPM) Group
|[[Kopassus]]'s SAT-81 Gultor CT Group, [[Kostrad]]'s Infantry Battalion, Penerbad (Army Aviation) Mixed Forces
| 8 kidnappers killed, 2 kidnappers captured. 2 hostages killed by kidnappers, 24 hostages rescued. 5 soldiers killed in helicopter accident.
|- valign="top"
| 2000 ||[[Sauk Arms Heist|Sauk Siege]]
|[[Perak]], Malaysia
| Malaysian (2 police officers, 1 soldier and 1 civilian)
| [[Al-Ma'unah]]
| [[Grup Gerak Khas]] and 20 [[Pasukan Gerakan Khas]], mixed forces
| 2 hostages, 2 rescuers, and 1 kidnapper killed.  Other 28 kidnappers captured.
|- valign="top"
| 2001–2005 || [[Pankisi Gorge crisis]]
| [[Pankisi Gorge]], [[Kakheti]], Georgia
|
| Mixed, [[Al-Qaeda]] and Chechen rebels led by [[Ibn al-Khattab]]
| 2,400 troops, 1,000 police officers
| Terrorism threats in the gorge were repressed.
|- valign="top"
| 2002 ||[[Moscow theater hostage crisis]]
|Moscow, Russia
| Mixed, mostly Russian (900+)
|[[Special Purpose Islamic Regiment]]
|[[Spetsnaz]]
| All 39 kidnappers and 129–204 hostages killed. 600–700 hostages freed.
|- valign="top"
| 2004 ||[[Beslan school siege]]
|[[Beslan]], [[North Ossetia–Alania|North Ossetia-Alania]], Russia
| Russian
|[[Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs|Riyad-us Saliheen]]
| [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia)|MVD]] (including [[OMON]]), [[Russian Ground Forces|Russian army]] (including [[Spetsnaz]]), Russian police ([[Militsiya]])
| 334 hostages killed and hundreds wounded. 10–21 rescuers killed. 31 kidnappers killed, 1 captured.
|- valign="top"
| 2007 ||[[Siege of Lal Masjid]]
|[[Islamabad]], Pakistan
|
| Students and [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]]
|[[Pakistan Army]] and [[Pakistan Rangers|Rangers]], [[Special Service Group]]
| 91 students/militants killed, 50 militants captured. 10 SSG and 1 Ranger killed; 33 SSG, 3 Rangers, 8 soldiers wounded. 204 civilians injured.
|- valign="top"
| 2007 ||Kirkuk Hostage Rescue{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}
| Kirkuk, Iraq
| Turkman child
| Islamic State of Iraq [[Al Qaeda]]
| PUK's Kurdistan Regional Government's Counter Terrorism Group
| 5 kidnappers arrested, 1 hostage rescued{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}
|- valign="top"
| 2008 ||[[Operation Jaque]]
| Colombia
| Mixed
|[[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]]
|[[Military Forces of Colombia|Columbian military]]
| 15 hostages rescued. 2 kidnappers captured
|- valign="top"
| 2008 ||Operations Dawn
| Gulf of Aden, [[Somalia]]
| Mixed
| Somali pirates and militants
| [[PASKAL]] and mixed international forces
| Negotiation finished. 80 hostages released. RMN, including PASKAL navy commandos with mixed international forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden during this festive period.<ref>''[http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/5/nation/2194475&sec=nation Crewmen tell of scary ordeal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008053311/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F10%2F5%2Fnation%2F2194475&sec=nation |date=October 8, 2008 }} [[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] Sunday October 5, 2008''.</ref><ref>''[http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/29/focus/2143855&sec=focus No choice but to pay ransom] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205181118/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F9%2F29%2Ffocus%2F2143855&sec=focus |date=December 5, 2008 }} [[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] Monday September 29, 2008''</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] |title=''Ops Fajar mission accomplished'' |date=October 10, 2008 |access-date=November 7, 2008 |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/21/nation/2327961&sec=nation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024092954/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Fnation%2F2327961&sec=nation |archive-date=October 24, 2008 |df=mdy }}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| 2008 ||[[2008 Mumbai attacks]]
| Multiple locations in [[Mumbai]] city
| Indian Nationals, Foreign tourists
| [[2008 Mumbai attacks#Attribution|Ajmal Qasab and other Pakistani nationals affiliated to Laskar-e-taiba]]
| [[National Security Guard]], [[MARCOS]], [[Mumbai Police]], [[Rapid Action Force]]
| 141 Indian civilians, 30 foreigners, 15 police officers, and two NSG commandos were killed. 9 attackers killed, 1 attacker captured. 293 individuals injured
|- valign="top"
| 2009 ||[[Maersk Alabama hijacking]]
|Gulf of Aden, Somalia. 
| 23 crew
| [[Piracy in Somalia|Somali pirates]]
| [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]], [[SEAL Team Six]]
| 3 kidnappers killed and 1 captured. All hostages rescued.
|- valign="top"
|2009 ||[[2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team|2009 Lahore Attacks]]
|Multiple locations in [[Lahore]] city
|Pakistan
|[[Lashkar-e-Taiba]]
|[[Law enforcement in Pakistan|Police Commandos]], [[Pakistan Army Rangers|Army Rangers Battalion]]
|March 3, The Sri Lankan cricket team attack – 6 members of the Sri Lankan cricket team were injured, 6 Pakistani police officers and 2 civilians killed.
March 30, the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore attack – 8 gunmen, 8 police personnel and 2 civilians killed, 95 people injured, 4 gunmen captured.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}<br />
Plaza Cinema Chowk attack – 16 police officers, an army officer and unknown number of civilians killed. As many as 251 people injured.{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}}
|- valign="top"
|2011 ||[[Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden]]
|Gulf of Aden, [[Somalia]]
|[[Koreans]], Myanmar, Indonesian
|Somali pirates and militants
|[[Republic of Korea Navy Special Warfare Flotilla]] (UDT/SEAL)
|4+ kidnappers killed or missing (Jan 18). 8 kidnappers killed, 5 captured. All hostages rescued.
|- valign="top"
|2012 ||[[Lopota Gorge hostage crisis]]
|[[Lopota]] Gorge, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
|[[Georgians]]
|Ethnic Chechen, Russian, and Georgian militants
|Special Operations Center, SOD, KUD, [[Special Forces Brigade (Georgia)|army special forces]]
|2 KUD members and one special forces corpsman killed, 5 police officers wounded. 11 kidnappers killed, 5 wounded, and 1 captured. All hostages rescued.
|- valign="top"
|2013 ||[[2013 Lahad Datu standoff]]
| [[Lahad Datu]], Sabah, Malaysia
| [[Malaysians]]
| [[Sultanate of Sulu|Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo]] ([[Jamalul Kiram III]]'s faction)
| [[Malaysian Armed Forces]], [[Royal Malaysia Police]], [[Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency]] and [[National Special Operations Force (Malaysia)|joint counterterrorist forces]], [[Philippine Armed Forces]]
| 8 police officers (including 2 [[Pasukan Gerakan Khas|PGK commandos]]) and one soldier killed, 12 others wounded. 56 militants killed, 3 wounded, and 149 captured. All hostages rescued. 6 civilians killed and one wounded.
|- valign="top"
| 2017 || [[2017 Isani flat siege]]
| [[Isani district]], [[Tbilisi]], Georgia
| [[Georgians]]
| Chechen militants
| [[State Security Service of Georgia]], police special forces
| 3 militants killed, including [[Akhmed Chatayev]]. 1 special forces officer killed during skirmishes.
|- valign="top"
| 2024 || [[Operation Golden Hand]]
| [[Rafah]], [[Gaza Strip]]
| [[Israel]]i
| [[Hamas]]
| [[Yamam|YAMAM]] and [[Shin Bet]] with support from the [[Israel Defense Forces]]
| 67–100+ Palestinians killed, all hostages rescued. 
|}

=== Designing counterterrorist systems ===

{{tone|section|date=June 2021}}
The scope for counterterrorism systems is very large in physical terms and in other dimensions, such as type and degree of terrorist threats, political and diplomatic ramifications, and legal concerns. Ideal counterterrorist systems use technology to enable persistent [[intelligence]], surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and potential actions. Designing such a system-of-systems comprises a major technological project.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01160.x| title = Reducing Risk Through Real Options in Systems Design: The Case of Architecting a Maritime Domain Protection System| year = 2009| last1 = Buurman | first1 = J. | last2 = Zhang | first2 = S. | last3 = Babovic | first3 = V. | journal = Risk Analysis| volume = 29| issue = 3| pages = 366–379 | pmid = 19076327| bibcode = 2009RiskA..29..366B| s2cid = 36370133}}</ref>

A particular design problem for counterterrorist systems is the uncertainty of the future: the threat of terrorism may increase, decrease or remain the same, the type of terrorism and location are difficult to predict, and there are technological uncertainties. A potential solution is to incorporate [[Flexibility (engineering)|engineering flexibility]] into system design, allowing for flexibility when new information arrives. Flexibility can be incorporated in the design of a counter-terrorism system in the form of options that can be exercised in the future when new information is available.<ref name=":0" />

=== Law enforcement ===
While some countries with longstanding terrorism problems have law enforcement agencies primarily designed to prevent and respond to terror attacks,<ref>Juergensmeyer, Mark (2000). Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.</ref> in other nations, counterterrorism is a relatively more recent objective of law enforcement agencies.<ref name="Deflem">Deflem, Mathieu. 2010. The Policing of Terrorism: Organizational and Global Perspectives. New York: Routledge.</ref><ref>Deflem, Mathieu and Samantha Hauptman. 2013. "Policing International Terrorism." Pp. 64–72 in Globalisation and the Challenge to Criminology, edited by Francis Pakes. London: Routledge. [http://deflem.blogspot.com/2013/01/policinginternationalterrorism.html]</ref>

Though some [[Civil libertarianism|civil libertarians]] and [[criminal justice]] scholars have criticized efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism as futile and expensive<ref name="HelmsCostanzaJohnson">{{Cite journal|last1=Helms|first1=Ronald|last2=Costanza|first2=S E|last3=Johnson|first3=Nicholas|date=2012-02-01|title=Crouching tiger or phantom dragon? Examining the discourse on global cyber-terror|journal=Security Journal|language=en|volume=25|issue=1|pages=57–75|doi=10.1057/sj.2011.6|s2cid=154538050|issn=1743-4645}}</ref> or as threats to civil liberties,<ref name="HelmsCostanzaJohnson" /> other scholars have analyzed the most important dimensions of the policing of terrorism as an important dimension of counter-terrorism, especially in the post-9/11 era, and have discussed how police view terrorism as a matter of crime control.<ref name="Deflem" /> Such analyses highlight the civilian police role in counterterrorism next to the military model of a war on terror.<ref>Michael Bayer. 2010. The Blue Planet: Informal International Police Networks and National Intelligence. Washington, DC: National Intelligence Defense College. [http://www.ni-u.edu/ni_press/pdf/The_Blue_Planet.pdf]</ref>

==== American law enforcement ====
[[File:FBI Hostage Rescue Team Agents bei einer Übung.jpg|thumb|upright|[[FBI]] [[Hostage Rescue Team]] agents]]
Pursuant to passage of the [[Homeland Security Act of 2002]], federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies began to systemically reorganize.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Costanza | first1 = S.E. | last2 = Kilburn | first2 = John C. Jr. | year = 2005 | title = Symbolic Security, Moral Panic and Public Sentiment: Toward a sociology of Counterterrorism | journal = Journal of Social and Ecological Boundaries | volume = 1 | issue = 2| pages = 106–124 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Deflem | first1 = M | year = 2004 | title = Social Control and the Policing of Terrorism Foundations for a sociology of Counterterrorism | url = http://deflem.blogspot.com/2004/08/social-control-and-policing-of.html | journal = American Sociologist | volume = 35 | issue = 2| pages = 75–92 | doi = 10.1007/bf02692398 | s2cid = 143868466 | url-access = subscription }}</ref> Two primary federal agencies, the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] (DOJ) and the [[Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS), house most of the federal agencies that are prepared to combat domestic and international terrorist attacks. These include the [[United States Border Patrol|Border Patrol]], the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]], the [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] and the [[FBI]].

Following suit from federal changes pursuant to 9/11, however, most state and local law enforcement agencies began to include a commitment to "fighting terrorism" in their mission statements.<ref>DeLone, Gregory J. 2007. "Law Enforcement Mission Statements Post September 11." Police Quarterly 10(2)</ref><ref>Mathieu Deflem. 2010. The Policing of Terrorism: Organizational and Global Perspectives. New York: Routledge.</ref> Local agencies began to establish more patterned lines of communication with federal agencies.  Some scholars have doubted the ability of local police to help in the war on terror and suggest their limited manpower is still best utilized by engaging community and targeting street crimes.<ref name="HelmsCostanzaJohnson"/>

While counter-terror measures (most notably heightened airport security, immigrant [[Racial profiling|profiling]]<ref>Ramirez, D., J. Hoopes, and T.L. Quinlan.  2003 "Defining racial profiling in a post-September 11 world." American Criminal Law Review. 40(3): 1195–1233.</ref> and border patrol) have been adapted during the last decade, to enhance counter-terror in law enforcement, there have been remarkable limitations to assessing the actual utility/effectiveness of law enforcement practices that are ostensibly preventative.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Kilburn | first1 = John C. Jr. | last2 = Costanza | first2 = S.E. | last3 = Metchik | first3 = Eric | last4 = Borgeson | first4 = Kevin | year = 2011 | title = Policing Terror Threats and False Positives: Employing a Signal Detection Model to Examine Changes in National and Local Policing Strategy between 2001–2007 | journal = Security Journal | volume = 24 | pages = 19–36 | doi = 10.1057/sj.2009.7 | s2cid = 153825273 }}</ref>  Thus, while sweeping changes in counterterrorist rhetoric redefined most American post 9/11 law enforcement agencies in theory, it is hard to assess how well such hyperbole has translated into practice.

In [[intelligence-led policing]] (ILP) efforts, the most quantitatively amenable starting point for measuring the effectiveness of any policing strategy (i.e.: Neighborhood Watch, Gun Abatement, Foot Patrols, etc.) is usually to assess total financial costs against clearance rates or arrest rates. Since terrorism is such a rare event phenomena,<ref>Kilburn, John C. Jr. and Costanza, S.E.  2009  "Immigration and Homeland Security"  published in Battleground: Immigration (Ed: Judith Ann Warner); Greenwood Publishing, Ca.</ref> measuring arrests or clearance rates would be a non-generalizable and ineffective way to test enforcement policy effectiveness. Another methodological problem in assessing counterterrorism efforts in law enforcement hinges on finding operational measures for key concepts in the study of [[homeland security]]. Both terrorism and homeland security are relatively new concepts for criminologists, and academicians have yet to agree on the matter of how to properly define these ideas in a way that is accessible.

=== Military ===

{{Further| List of special forces units}}
[[File:DSA 2016 - Breach the hideout.jpg|thumb|[[Malaysian Army]] [[Gerak Khas (Malaysian Army unit)|''Gerak Khas'']] operatives during a [[training exercise]] in 2016]]
Given the nature of operational counterterrorism tasks, national military organizations do not generally have dedicated units whose sole responsibility is the prosecution of these tasks. Instead the counterterrorism function is an element of the role, allowing flexibility in their employment, with operations being undertaken in the domestic or international context.

In some cases the legal framework within which they operate prohibits military units conducting operations in the domestic arena; [[United States Department of Defense]] policy, based on the [[Posse Comitatus Act]], forbids domestic counterterrorism operations by the U.S. military. Units allocated some operational counterterrorism tasks are frequently [[special forces]] or similar assets.

In cases where military organisations do operate in the domestic context, some form of formal handover from the law enforcement community is regularly required, to ensure adherence to the legislative framework and limitations. For instance, during the 1980 [[Iranian Embassy siege]], the [[Metropolitan Police]] formally turned responsibility over to the [[British Army]]'s [[Special Air Service]] when the situation went beyond police capabilities.

=== Counterterrorism agencies ===
{{main|List of counter-terrorism agencies}}