I got a tip this afternoon from JH about some photos taken after coalition forces repelled an attack on the Intercontinental hotel in Kabul today. Getty reports, “Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the hotel sparking a five-hour battle with Afghan commandos backed by a NATO helicopter in an assault that left at least 10 people dead.”
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Photographer Pedro Ugarte photographed a group of haggard operators at the scene, presumably as the battle was finishing up. One of my colleagues says these guys are 3rd Group, US Special Forces, but I’m not convinced. There’s clearly a lot of US spec kit in the photos, and even what looks like a set high speed, PVS-21-like NVGs hanging from the guy on the right’s neck. But, the helmets, haircut and the funky shoulder fabric on the Crye combat uniforms are making me think they are Brits, or maybe Aussies.
Update: It seems like the gallery has declared the operators are Kiwi’s. I’ll go with that. The NVGs are indeed AN/PVS-21s and the mounts are ratchet-style O’Gara mounts with battery packs on the back. Those mounts come as a stock accessories when you buy the PVS-21, but they’re getting phased out in place of a new Wilcox Industries setup.
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