Saracen Street

Saracen Street off East India Dock Road

East London

Lat = 51 degrees, 30.7 minutes North

Long = 0 degrees, 1.3 minutes West

The two OSC soldiers were sitting in the Gold Ford Granada in Saracen Street having tailed the Citroen there Four hours ago; the occupant had gone into a terraced house, number nine on the right just near to the junction with Canton Street, which was over their right shoulder twenty-yards away.

The house backed onto a school and another team was situated watching both ends of the alley running the length of the houses.

No one else had gone into or out of number nine.

Following Max’s interrogation of Abu Wael, the teams were aware that the suspect in number nine was one Omar Al Bazzaz, and that he had come to the notice of the Police on one occasion twenty-four years ago for a minor shoplifting offence.

Omar had been on the phone to Hussein, they had agreed that Abu Wael had been taken and would no doubt spill his guts to his captors.

This safe house was an armoury with explosives and various handguns and assault rifles, Omar had contacted one of his recruits and was awaiting a van to arrive with men to clear the house of these weapons and relocate them.

At Three-thirty, that afternoon the school was coming out from the entrance in Canton Street just as the van arrived.

Roy Smith was on the scene with two teams, all were in their unique; assault camouflage uniform consisting of three colour’s; the base colour was a dark slate grey inter spaced with a lighter grey known as sea storm and a light blue known as blue chalk creating a disruption pattern.

Covering their torsos was the Personal armour for ground troops, PASGT. This also included a combat helmet, with an integrated communications system.

Each man carried the Heckler and Koch MP-5 submachine gun with a detachable aluminum sound suppressor, with a curved capacity magazine, containing thirty; nine millimeter cartridges.

Their side arms were the nine-millimeter compact Glock-19 with a fifteen round magazine and the advanced combat knife with a seven-inch blade with a half serrated cutting edge finished in black.

They observed the box van arriving with several men whom had begun loading a Varity of sized boxes from the house into the vehicle. The black team were located twenty-five yards west of Canton Street, Blue team were situated at the top end of Saracen Street on the junction with Hind Grove, and number Nine was Fifty yards south on their left.

Both teams were awaiting the Go signal; however, the children coming out of school had put a hold on that.

The Team in the Gold coloured Ford Granada had been designated White team and were still eyeballing the house and relaying Intel to Roy Smith.

The team in the alleyway were the green team.

Just as the school children were emerging a lone figure had limped along Canton Street and was now in the phone box opposite the school entrance eighty-yards East of Saracen’s Street, Hussein was scanning the area with a pair of Ten by Twenty-five Mag pocket binoculars, his attention had been quickly drawn to two dark coloured Range Rover’s both had tinted glass making it difficult to observe the occupants; he dialled the number for number Nine Saracens street.

Omar picked the phone up, “it’s me,” Hussein said, look up the street and tell me if you have any unusual vehicles parked there.”

Omar placed the receiver on the table and walked out the front door, the men were still loading the boxes of munitions, and he casually looked to his left and then to his right nothing that unusual, he focused his eyes to the top of the street and noticed Two dark coloured Range Rover’s, he returned to the phone, “I have had a look,”

“Anything out of place or unusual?”

“Nothing really.”

“Well there are Two Dark coloured Range Rovers around the corner in Canton Street and they are certainly don’t fit in,” replied Hussein.

Omar replied, “don’t you mean at the top of Saracen Street?”

“Omar; I’m in a phone box in Canton Street opposite the school and I’m looking at them know in Canton Street.”

Several seconds past before Omar spoke, “How did they find us so quickly?” “Abu Wael had no knowledge of this safe house.”

“That can wait till later Omar; you’re going to be hit Hard, and I’ll bet on the Holly Qur’an scriptures there waiting for the school children to disperse, listen Omar this is what I want you to do.”

Two-minutes later the White team in the Ford Granada observed a lot of frenzied movement, the van doors had been closed and three of the vans loaders had jumped in the front, the front doors to number nine had been slammed shut, the van moved off at a rapid pace towards Canton Street, blaring its horn at the school crossing warden helping the children across the junction, they began to scatter as one of the occupants threw canisters of tear gas out of the van dispersing their contents into the atmosphere,

The van bolted south across the crossroads intersection of Canton Street towards the A 13 East India dock road.

The White team had been on the two-way radio relaying the Events, Roy was in the lead vehicle of the Black team in Canton Street studying a street map when he observed the van speeding across the junction, horn blaring and canisters being thrown from it.

He quickly ordered the second Black team vehicle to pursue the van, followed quickly by the order to mask up.

As both the black and blue teams emerged from their vehicles, their senses were hit by the resonance of gunfire.

In the alleyway at the back of number nine a gun battle was in full swing between the green team and four of Omar’s men, green team taking heavy fire, from automatic weapons.

They were holding the terrorists back from escaping across the school playground.

Canton Street had become a nightmare for Roy and his team, screaming children and adults were running blindly eyes running with tears, sneezing and coughing with some bent over vomiting.

White team had vacated the Ford Granada and had moved on the front of the house kicking down the door, only to be met by sustained automatic gunfire forcing them to retreat either side of the open doorway.

The blue teams had split, one unit was legging it down to the white team’s position and the other was coming down the alleyway from the North end laying down fire with their Heckler and Koch MP5 assault rifles supporting the Green team.

From the constant live chatter on the two-way radios Roy split his team; one section went to the South end of the alleyway to back up Green team and the second had moved down to the school gate entrance Canton Street picking their way through the disorientated pedestrians into the school playground, two of them began herding the children and adults over to the east side away from the gun battle, they kicked a five-foot high wooden fence panel down and began to marshal the school children and some adults through into the rear garden that lead down a path to a gated entrance into Upper North Street.

The other two had assumed the prone position on the playground floor and had been targeting the terrorist with an immediate result of a kill with the first two rounds.

The remaining three terrorists at the rear had been taken by surprise by the flanking manoeuvre and had moved back into the garden area affording them more cover; their comrade was lying in a puddle of his own blood from a headshot.

Omar had been in the hallway directing fire at the broken front door he moved through the house to the back and picked up a metal box off grenades.

He handed the box to one of the remaining three, use these and frag the unbelievers.

Roy was positioned in Canton Street on the south side of the alleyway when he heard the cry over the radio, “grenades!”

The three terrorists at the rear of the house had each lobbed a grenade two had gone up and down the alley and the third was thrown over into the school playground.

The OSC teams in the alleyway were able to secure cover by shielding behind walls when the grenades detonated receiving falling debris.

The two lying down on the school playground floor were much more exposed as the grenade landed several feet away, they had received training on dealing with grenades; always the first option was to fall behind cover in this case the second option was all they had, they both spun around on their stomachs facing the other way with their feet facing the grenade to present the absolute smallest surface area at the same time covering their ears, the playground was also relatively level.

A typical grenade explodes upwards and outwards in a sphere shape the detonation came a few seconds later both men felt the ground beneath them resonate followed by debris falling down on them, the other two black team men had taken cover inside the garden as the last of the school children and adults had filed out into Upper North street.

The two prone troops could not feel any obvious signs of trauma to their bodies, they spun back round moved the firing selector to fully automatic checked the firing line and target area was clear of friend-lies and poured nearly fifty rounds travelling at around thirteen- Hundred feet per second between them and the three terrorists at the rear of the house.

The first few rounds had immediate affect with a fatal head shot to one and another receiving gunshot wounds to his shoulder.

The surviving terrorist threw himself to the ground and aimlessly fired a full clip of rounds across the playground that spattered the rear fencing panels of the houses on the other side.

The two black team members moved quickly from the cover of the garden and both hit the ground in the prone position five meters either side of their team-mates, bringing their weapons up to bear on the rear of the house, before they could fire Roy Smith barked an order into the two-way radio system, “Seize firing... All units seize firing.”

For a few split seconds there was an unreal quietness often experienced by those whom have been engaged in this type of firefight, this was quickly broken by the distance sound of wailing emergency service sirens.

The OSC teams commenced a rapid weapons check on their respective firearms.

Hussein had observed it all from the protection of his phone box he dialled the number for the house, it rang for nearly half a minute, Omar had not heard it ringing as his ears were still drumming from the noise of the firefight.

He picked it up, Hussein spoke, “you are totally surrounded and outgunned by a Special Forces unit; are you and your men ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Allah?”

“Omar did not need to think about this question, his reply came swiftly but calmly back, “today is our judgement day we will go to paradise and take the infidels with us.”

Hussein spoke, “Then go my brother and someday I will join you; there is no God but Allah and Allah is most great,”

Omar replied, “Praise be to Allah.”

Hussein replaced the phone; looked about him and slowly limped East along Canton Street.

During the lull Roy had managed to give a sit-rep to Max via the radio, a call had been put through to Commissioner Dawson asking for his Police units to set up a perimeter encompassing the following roads, Upper north Road South down to East India Dock road, West to Canton Street North west into Pelling Street North East along Farrance street, east across Lindfield street completing the cordon backs at Upper North Street roughly a half-mile Perimeter.

The blue team that had run down Saracen Street had knocked on doors evacuating the occupants up the road into Hind road where the police were now moving them away from the firefight.

Roy received a call from Max that the Police Firearms branch SO-19 would be on site very shortly and how he wanted them deployed.

“Have them rendezvous at Canton Street junction with Upper North Street and await further instructions, I don’t want them in the way of our boys Max.”

“That’s fine by me Roy; you’re the OIC on site, I’ll advise them accordingly.”

Roy spoke into the radio and asked for a SITREP from each of the teams.

“The white team along with part of blue team were at the front of the house, the other part of blue team had now made it to within a few houses of the rear of number nine on the North side of the alley, Green and one of the Black teams were similarly positioned to the South side.

The Black team had remained in their static prone positions in the playground.

Roy had retrieved a megaphone from his vehicle and was now standing just in Saracen Street a few yards from the junction with Canton Street.

“To the people in number nine; I am the officer in command of the Special Forces unit that surrounds you,

I request you to lay down your weapons and emerge from the front door with your arms held high, you will then be placed in custody, there will be no bargaining or negotiating, you have five minutes to comply.”

The next few minutes passed by in an eerie silence with no communication from either side.

Just as the five minutes elapsed movement was observed by one of the white team from the front door, a few seconds’ later three men emerged hands raised high.

Roy spoke through the megaphone, “move to your right and spread out five paces apart, now lay down facing the ground hands behind your heads.

The three complied with the commands given.

Roy then picked up a message on the two-way radio from one of the white team, “boss this doesn’t add up.”

“Explain quickly,” replied Roy.

“We counted eleven enter the house from the van, three escaped in the van, these three plus the original suspect makes seven.”

“Eagle six to green team, how many X-rays do you have at the back?”

“One X-ray killed, one wounded and one still alive and kicking, however those two have withdrawn inside the house.”

Roy did a quick maths calculation three still inside, he raised the megaphone, “the remaining three in the house have one-minute to come out the front door.”

Omar had waited inside with the remaining two to see if his ruse would work; the last megaphone message confirmed it had not.

He looked at the two in front of him; he had known them for many years, “are you ready to enter paradise by brothers?”

They both nodded their heads, “let us pray”... “Allah, in whose name I begin is the most compassionate, the most merciful, look upon our actions today and save us from disgrace in this world and from the chastisement in the hereafter in thy name do we die and live; all praise to Allah.”

They then emerged from the back door into the alleyway and complied with the order to lay face down, the green team radioed Roy with the news, two of the blue team moved closer to the three prostrate bodies, Omar turned his head and looked to the sky and shouted “Allah is great,” he reached inside his jacket and activated a small switch a millisecond later all three bodies vaporised in a flash of blinding light with an increase in the immediate air pressure coupled with the blast Shockwave, the approaching two blue team soldiers were blown back several meters off their feet their bodies taking shrapnel as the blast wave washed over them.

Roy felt the reverberation through the ground and immediately observed a plume of smoke billowing above the roofline behind number nine.

As this was unfolding the three at the front quickly stood up, two ran towards Roy and one ran towards the white team all reaching into their jackets, Roy screamed into his radio “kill them, headshots only,”

In a split second Roy and the other members of the teams in Saracen Street raised their weapons; triggers were squeezed and three terrorists cranium’s exploded in a spatter of blood and brain matter, their bodies forced even faster across the ground as the bullets increased the initial momentum before they toppled over hitting the ground hard.

Roy and the others in Saracen Street carefully walked forward their weapons trained on the three inert bodies; their normal reaction would be to deliver a final head shot but the three bodies were virtually headless.

Roy radioed the teams at the back for a SITREP, a few moments passed before a reply was given, “three terrorist blown to kingdom come; also we have two down.”

“How bad,” Roy replied.

“Two of the black team are checking on them now, but it doesn’t look too good.”

Each of the OSC teams had a fully qualified medic whom was able to patch-up wounds stabilise an injured person and administer a range of drugs to lessen the pain.

The two downed OSC soldiers had wounds to the upper legs and arms, their flak jackets and helmets and facial protection had protected the more vital areas of their bodies.

Max at the beginning of the siege had requested a medevac chopper and it was now touching down in Bartlett Park two hundred yards North of the casualties.

Two paramedics were now running from the static helicopter across the park towards a gated opening; that led directly into the alleyway they immediately received a prognosis from the two OSC soldiers treating the wounded men.

Two further paramedics arrived from the helicopter with stretchers, the paramedics spent fifteen minutes stabilising the wounded men, and they were then stretchered to the waiting helicopter for immediate evacuation to a military hospital.

Roy Smith had made the call to allow the Metropolitan Police to enter the conflict zone to take control.

Roy was now inside number nine Saracen Street, with other members of the squad conducting a systematic search for evidence; a Police inspector knocked on the framework of the broken front door Roy could see him from the kitchen directly down the hall from the front door and walked to meet him he clocked the two pips on his shoulder insignia edifying that he as an inspector.

The inspector spoke, “I have been ordered to give you all the assistance you need.”

“Hello inspector; my men will be out of here in the next hour, what I need is a record of the phone calls in and out of this house for the past month on this house phone, can you arrange that for me?”

“I’ll have it given top priority, what do you want doing with the bodies.”

“Have them bagged and removed; all personal belongings on them, evidence bag them and have them brought to me ASAP.”

The inspector began to turn to walk away; he then rounded to face Roy Smith, “Sir... are we at war?”

“A war yes, but not the conventional type inspector.”

Roy made an about turn and walked back into the house.