ABSTRACT
The subject of mercenaries captured the headlines in September 2001 following the tragic terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Almost immediately, reports began to surface that British 'mercenaries', usually former Special Air Services (SAS), were hunting terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden in pursuit of the multimillion dollar reward offered by the United States. Less publicly, it was also heard that official inquiries had been made through a UK-based private military company (PMC) called Sandline. Reportedly, the hope was that some of Sandline's highly unofficial sources could assist in the search for bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
