Deployment
TF121 is 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.
As TF-20, this task force was composed of United States Army, Delta Force operators, commandos from the US Navy's DEVGRU and elements of SEAL Team 3, Army Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment, and Air Force Pararescuemen, Combat Controllers, Special Operations Weather Technicians, and Tactical Air Controllers.
The force was approximately 1500 soldiers with its own support capabilities.
Special Operations 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 1st Armored Division, 4th Brigade, 1/1 Cavalry Regiment (Hurricane Troop) and 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.
Read more about this topic: Task Force 121