US special forces have conducted nearly a dozen clandestine operations against al-Qaeda in Syria, Pakistan and other countries under a secret order issued by the Bush Administration in 2004.

The order, drawn up for Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary at the time, identified up to 20 countries where al-Qaeda operatives were believed to be sheltering. They included Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf states.

Explaining the secrecy of such missions, senior US officials said that publicity would only help to inflame political sensitivities in the countries where the ground-force raids had been authorised, particularly in Pakistan. A US Navy Seal team raided a suspected militants' compound in the Bajaur region of Pakistan in 2006, and commandos attacked Taleban targets in South Waziristan in September this year, The New York Times reported.

The secret use of US special forces units to track down and kill al-Qaeda terrorists anywhere in the world will be one of the most sensitive issues under review by Barack Obama when he becomes President in January.

The US began dispatching special forces teams to hunt down al-Qaeda soon after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Since then, presidential directives have been updated several times.

The 2004 version is notable for its omission of Iran among countries where the secret attacks could take place. The New York Times suggested that Iran was possibly dealt with under a separate authorisation.

Islamabad has reacted angrily to missile launches from Predator unmanned spy planes across the border from Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and Taleban targets in the tribal regions of Pakistan, especially when civilians have been killed. Attacks by American commandos on Pakistani soil have generated even greater controversy.

The secret American war is carried out by the US Special Operations Command, which includes units such as the Green Berets, Navy Seals and the Rangers. Also involved is the smaller Joint Special Operations Command, which includes the US Army's Delta Force, equivalent to the SAS, the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as Seal Team 6, and the US Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron. Another secret unit engaged in hunting down terrorists is Gray Fox, which is assigned to Special Operations Command, although the codename may now be changed.

It is believed that the Special Operations Command consists of about 50,000 personnel, although the number earmarked for combat missions is probably less than 10,000.

The most recent example of the covert US operations against al-Qaeda was on October 26, when a CIA-directed raid by US special forces was mounted in Syria against terrorists suspected of supplying suicide bombers for Iraq.

It is still not clear from which country the raid was launched. A witness was quoted as saying that he saw US helicopters heading back towards Iraq after the attack. A source close to the Iraqi Government, suggested, however, that the raid might not have been launched from Iraqi territory but from elsewhere in the region, possibly Jordan, Lebanon or Turkey. The helicopters may even have taken off in the Mediterranean.

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