A member of the FSB Alpha Group, equipped with the silenced AS VAL assault rifle.

The Alpha Group (also known as Alpha Squad) is a dedicated counterterrorist unit that belongs to OSNAZ of the FSB (former KGB), or more specifically the "A" Directorate of the FSB Special Operations Center (TsSN). It currently is believed to consist of 700 persons, 400 assigned to the Moscow Detachment and the other 300 located in other cities in Russia (unverified). Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A member of the OSNAZ MVD Rus team. ... The FSB (ФСБ) is a state security organisation in Russia. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language acronym for the Committee for State Security, (Russian: â–¶(?); transliteration: Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), and was the umbrella organisation name for (i) the principal Soviet internal Security Agency, (ii) the principal...

Function

Alpha Squad's primary function is believed to be to carry out urban counter-terrorist missions under the direct sanction and control of the Russian political leadership. However, little is publicly known and other plausible missions would include a variety of paramilitary, policing and/or covert operations, similar to the missions of its secretive pendant, the "V" Group, or Vympel. A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... Banner of the Vympel special forces unit, with its name embroidered on the lower two cantons of the banner. ...

Training and Equipment

By Russian standards, Alpha squad is lavishly supported and funded and has access to state of the art small arms and equipment. They are known to employ chemical agents in hostage rescue operations and be capable of functioning in an NBC environment. Little further information is publicly available. At a guess, they would have both sniper and counter-sniper capability, tactical EMS, demolitions, tactical intelligence and other functions typical of both police SWAT teams and the special operations community. It is unknown whether they have dedicated hostage negotiators.-1... The Ems (German; Dutch: Eems) is a river in northwestern Germany and northeastern Netherlands. ... SWAT officers SWAT (an acronym for Special Weapons and Tactics; originally Special Weapons Attack Team) is a specialized paramilitary police unit in major United States city police departments, which is trained to perform dangerous operations. ... Special forces or special operations forces is a term used to describe relatively small military units raised and trained for reconnaissance, unconventional warfare and special operations. ...

History

"Alpha Group" or Group A, a special forces (spetsnaz) or special operations detachment OSNAZ unit attached to the KGB was created 29 July 1974 within the First Chief Directorate of the KGB on the orders of Yuri Andropov, then Chairman of the KGB. It was intended for secret foreign operations. Special Forces are relatively small military units raised and trained for special operations missions such as Special Reconnaissance (SR), Unconventional Warfare (UW), Direct Action (DA), Counter-Terrorism (CT), and Foreign Internal Defense (FID). ... A member of the FSB Alpha Group, equipped with the silenced AS VAL assault rifle. ... Special forces or special operations forces is a term used to describe relatively small military units raised and trained for reconnaissance, unconventional warfare and special operations. ... A member of the OSNAZ MVD Rus team. ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language acronym for the Committee for State Security, (Russian: ▶(?); transliteration: Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), and was the umbrella organisation name for (i) the principal Soviet internal Security Agency, (ii) the principal... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The First Chief Directorate of the KGB was the organization responsible for foreign operations and intelligence collection activities by the training and management of covert agents, intelligence collection management, and the collection of political, scientific and technical intelligence. ... Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (Ю́рий Влади́мирович Андро́пов), (June 2 (O.S.) = June 15 (N.S.), 1914 – February 9, 1984) was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU from November 12, 1982 until his death just sixteen months later. ...

Their most notable mission during the Soviet period was the seizure of Amin's palace in Afghanistan on 27 December 1979, the special operation which began the Afghan war. According to many Russian sources of information (including the memoirs of the Alpha and other compounds' officers that took part in the seizure), the operation was called «Шторм-333» (English: "Storm-333"). Jointly with the Alpha group, called «Гром» (English:Thunder) in that time, which consisted of 24 troops, in the operation took part another special KGB group: «Зенит»(English:Zenith) — 30 troops. Also from the USSR Ministry of Defense in the operation participated so called Muslim battalion — 520 troops (which consisted exclusively of the soldiers from the southern republics of the USSR) and one Air Landing company—100 troops. In the operation Alpha group lost 2 troops, Zenith group lost 3 troops, Muslim battalion — 5 troops and the Air Landing company — 9 troops; more than 50 were wounded. The Afghani president, Hafizullah Amin and his approximately 200 elite guards were killed. During the operation also other governmental buildings such as the Ministry of Interior building, the Internal Security (KHAD) building and the General Staff building (Darul Aman Palace) were seized. Alpha group's veterans call this operation one of the most successful in the group's history. State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Area  - Total  - % water Largest on the planet 22,402,200 km² ?% Population  - Total  - Density 3rd before collapse 293,047,571 (July... Tajbeg Palace, 1987. ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO code In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ... U.S. paratroopers jump into Australia on a military training exercise. ... // US Army In the United States military, infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle platoons and a heavy weapons platoon; tank companies are usually made up of three tank platoons and a command element. ... Hafizullah Amin (August 1, 1929 - December 27, 1979) was the second President of Afghanistan during the period of the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. ... KHAD or KhAD is an abbreviation for Khedamat-e Eteleaat-e Dawlati, the Afghanistan Marxist regimes secret police, also known as the State Information Agency. ... Darul Aman Palace or Tajbeg, is a European-style palace located about ten miles outside of the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, at 34° 27′ 54. ... A veteran refers to a person who is experienced in a particular area, particularly referring to people in the armed forces. ...

During the Soviet coup attempt of 1991 the Alpha group, under the command of Major General Viktor Karpukhin was assigned the task of entering the White House, Russia's parliament building, and killing Boris Yeltsin and the other Russian leaders following a planned assault on the entrance by paratroopers. This order was unanimously refused. During the Soviet Coup of 1991, also known as the August Putsch or August Coup, a group of hardliners within the Soviet Communist party briefly deposed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and attempted to take control of the country. ... Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin listen ▶(?) (Russian: Борис Николаевич Ельцин) (born February 1, 1931) was President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. ...

During the Soviet war in Afghanistan they were called "red devils" by the Mujaheddin. The unit has continued to exist after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has been used in a variety of difficult situations, such as the Moscow Theatre Siege. Mujahideen (مجاهدين; also transliterated as mujāhidīn, mujahedeen, mujahedin, mujahidin, mujaheddin, etc. ... On Wednesday, October 23, 2002, 40 Chechen terrorists seized a crowded Moscow theatre, taking over 700 hostages and demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. ...

The most recent operation conducted by Alpha was the liberation of Moscow hostages and the killing of 49 well-armed guerrillas in the Moscow theatre siege of 2002. In the latest Moscow hostage crisis, a reported total of 129 hostages died after the raid, roughly 16% of the total number. However, no hostages were killed by Alpha operatives' gunfire. All 129 victims died because of faulty post-operative organisation, most notably the failure to inform the medical authorities about the kind of nerve toxins used as incapacitants during the assault. Most of the hostages died of suffocation, the paramedic teams being unaware that the victims should not, in that particular case, be allowed to lie on their back. It should be noted, however, that many special forces units would consider an operation in which even a single hostage died to be a failed operation, regardless of the cause of death. Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: (?)) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... A hostage is a person (sometimes another entity) which is held by a captor in order to compel another party to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way. ... Distinguish from the type of ape called a gorilla. ... On Wednesday, October 23, 2002, 40 Chechen terrorists seized a crowded Moscow theatre, taking over 700 hostages and demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. ...

References

The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB, Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, Basic Books, 1999, hardcover edition, ISBN 0-465-00310-9, pages 389-391.

External links

• http://faq.guns.ru/amin.html (in Russian), some memoirs of the Amin's palace seizure veterans