Deep Behind Enemy Lines, page 14
‘We’re on our way.’
Jama arrived at Khalid al Gurreh’s camp dragging the terrified Odinga by a rope around his neck. This brave young man, although ruthlessly interrogated and tortured by Khalid, would say nothing. His patience exhausted and his temper erupting to volcanic proportions, Khalid ordered the whole village to be present as a warning to others and stood and watched as the prisoner was beheaded and his body tossed into the undergrowth, to be devoured by scavengers.
Chapter 25
Major Brown was having a discussion with Travers when the phone rang.
‘Good afternoon Major Brown. This is Mr Timms the manager of the Tana River Irrigation Company. I’ve urgent information for you concerning insurgent activities.’
‘Thank you for calling. Let me stop you right there. This is an insecure line and if it is important as I think it might be, it would be more prudent if I fly down to discuss it in person. Mr Travers, with whom I believe you are acquainted, will accompany me.’
‘Good. Yes, it’s very important. How long do you think it’ll take you to get to Hola?’
‘Hopefully, not more than a couple of hours providing I’m able to task a chopper. I’ll contact our air wing now and see how quickly I can commandeer one. I’ll advise you as soon as I know.’
‘I look forward to hearing from you.’
As luck would have it a Scout Helicopter had just rolled out of routine maintenance and was available. Captain Brown duly informed the plant manager and it set down on the landing pad at Hola at 1130 hours and the manager of the Tana River Irrigation Company walked out to meet them.
‘Good morning, Mr Timms,’ said Major Brown, and Travers nodded to the man.
‘We’ll talk in my office, gentlemen.’ It was very hot and humid and the visitors were glad of the large ceiling fan running in the manager’s office.
‘OK, let’s waste no time and get straight down to business,’ Major Brown said.
Mr Timms had coffee ready and waiting so, without preamble, he explained he’d only had the information since just after dawn that morning, and went on to give a full account of the recent events and details he’d received from the Pokomo infiltrators. The most significant piece of information was the fact the senior warlord was intending to bomb the oil refinery at Mombasa sometime during late December. Major Brown glanced at Travers in dismay.
‘It would, of course, be most helpful if we could pinpoint the exact date and timing this is likely to take place, so we’re able to mount a counter attack.’
‘We may have some luck there via our trusty infiltrators and, if so, I would of course inform you immediately. The spies reported that the insurgents are also preparing for some particularly large attacks on major villages along the River Tana. These are due to be mounted within weeks, most likely sooner rather than later in my opinion.’
‘Well, Mr Timms, this is indeed disturbing news. I’m more than grateful to you for letting us have the information so speedily. You can rest assured we’ll follow through on the strength of it just as speedily with our coalition partners,’ assured the major.
They continued for a short time, discussing other pertinent matters concerning the Shifta meeting, along with the security arrangements around both the Tana River Irrigation Company and the Mombasa Oil Refinery. After coffee, the major once again thanked Mr Timms for his time, information and hospitality and left him to return to Kahawa Barracks as a matter of urgency.
‘We’ll talk more about this when we get back to the office,’ Major Brown said to Travers.
‘I agree. I also need to update my superiors at the FO,’ Travers replied.
On Monday 25th November at 0800 hours, Major Brown received a further secure call from Mr Timms to inform him a radio call had been intercepted between al Gurreh and one of his henchmen. It concerned the impending attack on the Kenya Oil Refinery at Mombasa, intimating the landing attack on Nyali Beach was planned for 0200 hours on 28th December. He promptly passed this information to Travers for forward transmission to the FO. In a very worried tone Timms also told the Major one of his undercover scouts had disappeared and he feared the worst for him if he’d fallen into Khalid’s hands. When pressed about the man’s capacity to remain silent in the event, he assured the major he was totally confident in that respect; unto death.
In view of the serious nature of this further information, Major Brown called Major McIntosh and Major Jessop. He briefly relayed his conversation with Timms, emphasising the necessity for a further in-camera conference, to which neither of them raised any objection. Thus, at 1100 hours they were seated at the conference table and Major Brown proceeded to expand on this latest development.
‘Gentlemen, I’ve no need to explain to you how serious this is. The refining plant provides all gasoline products in and for Kenya and a successful attack would be a critical blow to the Kenyan Government. It seems the attacks are planned for 0200 hours on 28th December somewhere along Nyali Beach. This is, of course, an inadvertent security breach by Khalid himself that we can take advantage of.’
‘OK, so what do you propose,’ asked Major McIntosh.
‘Well, my first thought is to send Staff Sergeant Scraggs, when he returns from Operation Night Hawk, together with two corporals, to establish a beach head for covert surveillance at three well-spaced locations on high ground back from the waterfront.
Nyali has a waterfront of somewhere in the region of 4,500 yards. I think they should be deployed from, say, 22nd December in the event the insurgents change the date. They’d utilise our special long-range infrared binoculars, and radios for communication. I also think the Oxfordshire Regiment and KAR should each deploy a platoon at two selected positions, with sufficient weaponry to cover the whole beach area.’ He paused and glanced at Major Jessop.
‘I think we could site four Bren-gun positions with a range of up to 1,500 yards and, if set up on either side of the observation points, would provide a very good lay-down area of cross-fire. My men could be in position by say, 23rd or 24th December. What say you, Philip?’
‘Yes, I think that’s a sound strategy. Here’s a suggestion. I have, in fact, a man who is taking a couple of R & R days in Mombasa next week. I’ll have him do a bit of off-the-record scouting along that stretch of beach, sort of a holiday- maker stroll. He can eye up potential gun emplacements and then we’ll have much better knowledge to work with when we get there. I also think in the interest of stealth, the platoons are transported by a couple of 3-ton trucks.
‘Excellent suggestions. OK, we might require one more liaison meeting before mobilisation, together with hopefully useful information from your man undertaking a bit of under cover scouting at Nyali Beach and at the time, I’ll get Staff Sergeant Scraggs to join us,’ advised Major Brown. The meeting was officially closed and the visitors left the office.
Chapter 26
Reveille was called for 0500 hours on the kick-off morning of Operation Night Hawk. Josh’s men were given their short briefing in the vehicle compound, and the OC and Travers were present to see them on their way with a few words of encouragement. At precisely 0600 hours Josh gave the order to move out, and the men made themselves as comfortable as possible for the long drive to Archer’s Post and the various surveillance locations along the River Tana. His team to Garissa also moved out.
Bill’s vehicle deployment moved out at the same time as Josh’s, the men having received Bill’s parting pep talk. They’d arrive in place around dusk, road conditions permitting, and the men who were flying with him would muster at the AAC Air Wing hanger at around 1630 hours to be briefed with take-off at 1700 hours. The flying times to their DZs would be an hour to Bura and approximately another twenty minutes to Hola.
A-team arrived at Archer’s Post at 1800 hours and the vehicle and trailer were off-loaded. Josh delivered his second short O-Group briefing, the truck driver and his escort left to return to Nairobi, and by 1900 hours the first two-man detail had located their surveillance position, camouflaged themselves and settled in for the duration. Josh and the other seven men, climbed into the inflatables and headed down river to their referenced locations.
On arrival at the first stop on the north side of the river, near Isiolo, equipment was off-loaded where Josh and three men organised their two-man dig-ins and camouflaged the inflatable. The second following inflatable continued down river, carrying the remaining four men. When they found their spot close to Kinna they pulled into the bank, off-loaded the equipment, camouflaged their inflatable and likewise found their two-man dig-ins to hunker down as comfortably as the terrain allowed.
The vehicle transporting Josh’s four-man detail to Garissa reached its destination after dark. As luck would have it, there was a half-moon providing enough light to off-load equipment. The driver turned the vehicle and headed back to Nairobi. Once the inflatable was made ready and the outboard motor secured, the inflatable craft was loaded up and they struck out across the river towards their designated location. Having moored up, the equipment was carried from the bank and the inflatable camouflaged deep in amongst the overhanging trees and shrub. They also found two suitable places to burrow into, and settle as comfortably as they could.
Meantime, back at camp, Bill had given his own short O-Group briefing at 1630 hours and the Twin Otter took off on schedule at 1700 hours. It was now 1800 hours and the aircraft was in sight of the first DZ at Bura. Bill exited the aircraft at 12,000 feet, closely followed by his three-team members who all made a good, well-coordinated descent. As the drone of the aircraft faded, its thrum was replaced by the all-pervading silence, and the air was pleasantly cool in contrast to the warmth of the aircraft interior. Darkness was almost complete, but Bill was still able to communicate with his men in the last of the fading light using hand signals and, when they reached 2,000 feet, by VHF radio.
As he looked around at his men he had a momentary and surreal mental image of the seeds from a dandelion clock floating to earth. Get a grip, he thought and shook his head. At 1,000 feet, parafoils were deployed and, using the instructed coordinates, Bill clearly saw the DZ through his NVGs and gently manipulated his foil to land safely. The men followed in quick succession, and the foils were hastily buried to avoid detection.
They hefted the equipment rucksacks and worked their way through the high grass to their map reference position, which fortunately wasn’t too far from the DZ. As with Josh’s men they split into two-man details and hunkered down on patches of nearby high ground giving good cover and clear all-round vision.
At 1815 hours the Twin Otter aircraft carrying Bill’s second team of four was approaching Hola. A blustery cross wind was blowing, threatening to veer the parachutists off course; but, as luck would have it, the wind speed wasn’t so forceful as to prevent their safe landing. Corporal Newell, who was their lead, had made good use of his NVGs to guide them down to within 150ft adrift of the DZ, and when landed on their feet they buried the foils and shouldered the rucksacks, hefting them to the map referenced spot only a few hundred yards away. They too, found high ground with good surrounding cover and unobstructed all-round vision, and dug themselves into two-man positions for the duration of their surveillance duty.
Bill’s thoughts were on his men travelling by truck to Garissa. He hoped they’d made it safely. In fact, he needn’t have concerned himself. Their journey had not been exactly plain sailing and was slower than hoped since the driver could not use headlights for security reasons. They were after all, driving through enemy territory. However, there was some moonlight and both the driver and the man sitting as escort had been provided with NVGs they put to good use. They looked quite bizarre with the NVGs welded to their faces and the guys on board had a good chortle at their expense.
Their levity didn’t last long though, due to the surface of the road giving them a jolly good shaking. Notwithstanding the less than comfortable ride, they arrived at their destination close to 1930 hours. Four of these men would cross the river at the Garissa location and the last four would carry on to Kipini near Lamu on the Indian Ocean coastline.
The ritual was the same for the off-loading. An inflatable and all supporting equipment were extracted, the inflatable craft loaded up and four of the eight men headed across the river. On landing, equipment was off-loaded, the craft camouflaged and they made their way to their observation positions. The remaining four men were driven to the Kipini location where they also did likewise. The truck was turned, gears made grinding protest and it headed back to Nairobi. These four men also motored across the river to their identified spot and proceeded with their surveillance preparations.
When the men from both A and B teams were settled and had eaten, the only remaining item on the agenda was the 2359 hours radio sitrep the next night to the Kahawa GWS Radio Room. All of them marked out a stretch of ground on which they could lie down full length, in part for watch duty and in part for sleeping. Whilst they lay on their sleeping bags the first night there was the quiet exchange of desultory chitchat until silence finally descended.
Being close to the river, the chirruping of cicadas filled the air, and they heard the occasional roar of a lion, trumpet of an elephant and laughing bark of a hyena. Fireflies darted around and they could hear the myriad clicks and scuffles of insect life, and small animals in the undergrowth. If they didn’t know better they could almost imagine they were on another planet; it was so far from the civilised world in which they’d grown up and knew so well.
Chapter 27
Fourteen days had passed since the Global Wireless teams set up their covert positions. At times, when they left their hideouts, they silently and covertly scouted the surrounding terrain, taking note of any suspicious activity in the villages they came across. During one of Bill’s undercover sorties with one of his men, they came across a small group of Massabubu River Bushmen, known to be friendly. They beckoned for Bill to follow them back to their village, which was by the river half a mile away. Bill agreed in principle, but ever alert to the imminent threat of being led into an ambush, the two men kept their side arms unsnapped and ready for action. However, caution aside, they arrived without incident.
The village, set amongst dense vegetation, was quite large and colonised with surprisingly sturdy-looking rondavels and an impressive flotilla of dugout canoes moored along the river’s edge. A few village women sat around fires attending to food preparation in earthenware pots as Bill was introduced to the chief; a very frail but bright-eyed old man. He was sitting outside his rondavel along with an Orma tribesman who had command of reasonable pigeon English. It transpired he had learned English at a missionary school. He said his name was Abdulla and he visited the village regularly to purchase fish from the villagers, and also traded with other folk in the area.
Through Abdullah, the chief explained the insurgents had inflicted significant damage to his village and people, and gave Bill the very useful information many of the rebels were camped only about six miles to the east of where Bill and his men were dug in. He also said the insurgents looked to be preparing for a large assault on local villages around Bura and Hola, both of which were pro the Kenyan Government.
Bill thanked the chief for his information and promised he and his team would do all they could to protect them from tyranny and give support to the local populace. From what the chief said, it was obvious he knew exactly where Bill’s operational set-up was, although no words confirmed it. They left the village, ever on the alert in case they had company, and made the way back to their foxholes where Bill radioed in his report about this recent intelligence information.
The other two men in his cohort made scouting forays of their own for any signs of activity, and if they saw anything remotely suspicious they reported back. Using the emergency secure channel, Bill called his other detachments with the recent information, requesting their update on any suspected hostile movement.
Once he’d assessed and collated the findings, the details were relayed back to base. Any such movement indicated heavily armed Shifta gangs, so the assumption was they were being quietly orchestrated and directed by Khalid al Gurreh, probably from one of his camp quarters, or maybe even somewhere closer. The activity in and around the various areas served to reinforce what Bill had already learned; the gangs were indeed preparing to launch a coordinated attack on many villages, and if immediate counter-measures weren’t taken there’d be mayhem and mass slaughter.
At 0730 hours Bill radioed Crow at GWS with his update, stressing his profound concern at the level of escalating threat in all the observation areas. He was emphatic it was of the utmost urgency for swift armed intervention.
‘OK, this corroborates other information we’ve recently received. All teams are to be prepared ready for my radio order to evacuate all Operation Night Hawk locations,’ instructed Crow.
‘That’s an affirmative. Over and out.’
Bill confirmed the rest of his crews had heard the message from Crow, had understood the orders, and would wait for further instructions. All responses came back affirmative. Meantime, liaison continued between the observation teams, Bill, the Nairobi Control Room, the OC and Travers with sitreps of any variations and authenticity of activity. He respectfully suggested that an operation, codenamed Thunderstorm, be mounted as a matter of urgency to which the OC concurred, with his assurance it was well in hand.
On receipt of further sitreps, giving yet more details of changes to movements, exact grid references of all the villages involved were identified. Major Brown had discussed these added urgent developments with Travers who agreed together with local intelligence about the increased activity, Majors McIntosh and French should be informed immediately. Travers would inform the Foreign Office.
