Switzerland
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Canton Tactical Units
Switzerland
is unique amongst all the nations of the world in that
it is the only one, amongst those that possess the capability,
that does not field a national counterterrorist unit.
Instead, these duties are handled by the special
tactical units (similar to SWAT teams found in US cities)
from the local police forces of the various "cantons".
These teams vary significantly in size, however
manpower in the major Swiss units generally numbers
approximately 40 to 50.
There has been some speculation that one of the
top two such units, the "Stern" unit from
Bern and the "Enzian" unit from Zurich might
be called on to deal with a major terrorist incident,
although this has not been confirmed.
This was borne out in 1984 when disguised members
of the "Stern" unit successfully rescued 62
hostages from a seized Air France 737. The unit from the Ticino canton is also regarded very highly
and shares close ties with the Italian NOCS.
The training of Swiss Tactical Units involves
very little in the way of specific counterterrorism,
with half devoted to basic CT and the rest to general
police work. Successful
operations include the rescue of 14 hostages from the
Polish Embassy in Bern, and the liberation of 62 hostages
from a hijacked Air France 737 in 1984.
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