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JEDDAH, 18 June — An Australian employee of British Aerospace (BAE) in Tabuk was shot at by a sniper in camouflage as he drove out of the Najrani Compound on June 5. The incident was confirmed to Arab News by both BAE and officials at the British and Australian embassies last night. The man, reportedly dressed in military camouflage, was lying in wait when the Australian drove out of the BAE-owned compound in the early afternoon. The sniper then opened fire on the vehicle five times but the Australian escaped unhurt, and his assailant fled. Tabuk is the Kingdom’s northern-most...

AUSTRALIAN troops had attracted an embarrassing level of praise from international coalition partners in the war against terrorism, Defence Minister Robert Hill revealed yesterday. Mr Hill made the comments as he farewelled another deployment of SAS personnel to the war in Afghanistan. The new troops will replace about 150 personnel returning from the region after a five-month deployment, some of whom took part in the Operation Anaconda offensive. "All reports that I get are that they've done extraordinarily well on the ground, and they are highly regarded for what they've achieved," Mr Hill said. "In fact, it almost becomes embarrassing...

THESE dramatic, behind-the-scenes pictures come from the frontline of the most dangerous mission in the war against terror: Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. Released by the US military, they offer a rare glimpse of American, Australian and British troops fighting to crush Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. Photographs and interviews with troops reveal the almost surreal nature of the war inside Afghanistan, where US-led soldiers are engaged in battle in remote mountainous regions almost resembling a scene from medieval times. The soldiers have started their ground campaign from the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in Afghanistan's south and from there, have been...

A FALLEN Australian commando was singled out for special mention by George W. Bush in marking the six-month anniversary of September 11. The President also used the first major anniversary of the terrorist attack to map out the next phase in the global war against terror. With Australia's flag fluttering in a cool breeze outside the White House, Mr Bush offered a moving tribute to SAS Sergeant Andrew Russell and his young family. quot;Last month Sergeant Andrew Russell, of the Australian Special Air Service, died in Afghanistan,quot; Mr Bush told the world from the historic South Lawn. quot;He left behind...

HE was dressed in the traditional garb of an Afghan worker but nothing could hide David Hicks' true identity. Confronted at an isolated security checkpoint, the Australian Taliban fighter at first pretended he was a deaf mute, then attempted to persuade his captors he was a Malaysian traveller. But his interrogator saw the truth in Hicks' blue-green eyes. Undoubtedly this unarmed prisoner was neither an Afghan nor a Malaysian. Here, on an isolated stretch of the dusty road between Kabul and Kunduz, Hicks' hope of escape faded. Behind was the bloody siege of Kunduz, ahead of him certain punishment for...