British SAS to Boost 2012 Olympics Security

British SAS

The Telegraph: SAS squads will be based in a secret riverside bunker by the Thames for the London Olympics to combat terrorist threats more effectively.

The Special Air Service teams will use high-speed rigid inflatable boats to avoid traffic and increase their response speed.

The special forces troopers have been training for months against the potential threat of a Mumbai-style attack, in which terrorists seize hotels or other civilian targets and defend them against the authorities.

A source told The Sun newspaper: “All scenarios are being anticipated. London will be protected like never before - and the message is clear: if anyone is fool enough to try to endanger the public at these Games they will be met with the swiftest retribution by the best equipped troops of our most elite fighting units.

“Troops can deploy by air and water and be on site in moments. Then you’ve got force on the ground while the situation is monitored by the air.

“Major evacuation plans are still being revised in case of a terrorist attack but the most important thing is having the access and ability to strike back at terrorists. That will be achieved and those plans are in place.”

The SAS are understood to have already run training drills with live ammunition at the Olympics Village in east London.

Special Boat Service units have also been training off the Dorset coast to tackle the threat from suicide bombers, it has been reported.

Last year, two former senior commanders of the SAS told The Sunday Telegraph that Britain's security forces would be unable to cope with a Mumbai-style attack in central London.

Colonel Richard Williams and Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb said that such a "paramilitary threat" would "overmatch" any land-based police force and turn London into a war zone.