SAS hitch ride on US planes

The Air Force C-17 Globe Master III flew into Whenuapai Aerodrome unannounced yesterday. Picture / Greg Bowker

New Zealand has boosted its commitment in Afghanistan with a 50-strong SAS unit leaving for the troubled country today on two large US military jets.

Two US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transports arrived unheralded at Whenuapai Air Base yesterday to load the personnel, supplies and 11 of the Army's new Pinzgauer special operations vehicles.

Defence Minister Mark Burton downplayed the significance of the jets when announcing the surprise deployment, saying it was purely an operational decision to contract the US Air Force.

It was considered by the Defence Force to be the best option to get the SAS to Afghanistan, as the New Zealand Air Force does not have the aircraft needed for the job.

Apart from Antarctic operations and Apec in 1999, US military planes have not been seen in our skies for years due to the freeze in military ties following the Anzus rift in the 1980s.

The Defence Force said it was the first time in "recent years" US military transports had airlifted New Zealand personnel going overseas, although Kiwi forces have been carried by US aircraft while in theatres of operations.

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said she gave a blanket clearance every year for US military aircraft visits to New Zealand and the C-17s had come under that approval.

The $7.3 million deployment is the third by New Zealand's special forces unit to Afghanistan since the US-led invasion ousted the Taleban regime in 2001.

The tour of duty will last up to six months and boosts New Zealand's total commitment to about 170 personnel. About 120 personnel are in a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan's Bamyan province until September 2006.

A spokeswoman for the US Embassy said Ambassador Charles Swindells was delighted New Zealand had again chosen to "send these very talented and professional troops to contribute to the war on terrorism".

He said it was true the US and New Zealand did not have "fully normalised" military relations.

"However the US is always willing to consider whether operational needs outweigh policy restrictions and discuss workable solutions that both countries regard as meeting their interests."

But Green Party foreign affairs and defence spokesman Keith Locke attacked the deployment, saying it would further tarnish New Zealand's human rights record.

It was "mind-blowing" the Government should choose to send the SAS back in the midst of the Bagram prisoner abuse scandal and following Afghan President Hamid Karzai's criticism of American conduct of the war.

It was "even more compromising" for the SAS to be transported by the US Air Force.

Mr Burton said the SAS would be commanded by a New Zealand officer and undertake "long-range reconnaissance and direct action missions" - in other words combat.

Security problems in Afghanistan in the last week:

* A roadside bomb in Kabul aimed at a coalition vehicle injures seven Afghans.

* Nato sent F16 jets to Takhar province as a show of force after violent protests.

* Afghan TV broadcasts a video of an Italian aid worker kidnapped on May 16 in Kabul.

* Nato's headquarters in Kabul is hit by a rocket attack, but nobody is hurt.