950804

Britain bans book

on SAS role

in Gulf War

LONDON: Britain's Ministry of Defence has won a court order banning publication of book believed to disclose details about the work of an elite British army unit during the Gulf War, a ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.

It is thought that the book - entitled "Immediate Action" - contains confidential details of the operations of the Special Air Service (SAS) during the Gulf War in 1991.

The book - by Andy McNab, author of the bestselling novel "Bravo Two Zero" -- would have compromised the "operational effectiveness and the personal security of personnel," the spokeswomen said.

She claimed that the injunction was essential to protect national security and the members of the SAS, whose identity is never officially disclosed.

She added that most books about military operations or regiments were checked by the ministry. It was the first time the ministry had taken this action "for some years," she said.

Bravo two Zero," also about the work of the SAS in the Gulf war, was cited in a recent court case involving two students. They murdered a man in London as the "ultimate dare" after reading the book.-AFP