TF121 was a combination of the now defunct Task Force 5 and Task Force 20, which operated in
Afghanistan and
Iraq respectively. Acting on the apparent logistic redundancy of keeping two separate task force teams for Iraq and Afghanistan, General
John Abizaid decided to combine both teams into a single streamlined force, forming the TF121. The force was approximately 1,500 soldiers with its own support capabilities. Task Force 20's primary goal was to capture or kill "
High-value targets" (HVTs), such as Iraqi
Mujahideen leaders and former
Ba'ath party regime members and leaders. Task Force 20 operators were directly involved in the 4-hour firefight between
101st Airborne soldiers and
Saddam Hussein's sons,
Uday and
Qusay Hussein. The two sons were killed in the shootout. The apprehending of the most wanted man in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, in
Operation Red Dawn directly involved Task Force 121 operators and members of the Army's
4th Infantry Division. Task Force 20 was also involved in what the US military calls a tragic accident on 27 July 2003. At least three Iraqis were killed in western Baghdad's Mansour district, when US soldiers from Task Force 20 opened fire on cars that overshot a military cordon. The drivers apparently had missed the cordon when they turned into the area from an unblocked side street. Many TF121 groups were assigned Special Operations
CIRA (Communications Intelligence Reconnaissance and Action) personnel with expertise in relevant fields. These operators work closely with the intelligence agencies tied to TF121 and work to pinpoint and identify HVTs aggressively.
Achievements On 21 July 2003, Saddam's sons
Uday and
Qusay were killed in a firefight with TF20 operators and soldiers from
101st Airborne. On 13 December 2003,
Operation Red Dawn netted HVT #1, Saddam Hussein. After intelligence narrowed down the target to two possible locations, TF121 coordinated the raid with 600 soldiers from the
4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team and Golf Troop 10th Cavalry Regiment (Reconnaissance troop), 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division. == Detainee abuse ==