Editing GSG 9 (section)

==Missions==
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F051866-0010, "Landshut"-Entführung, Rückkehr GSG 9.jpg|thumb|right|After the successful hostage rescue operation on [[Lufthansa Flight 181]] at [[Mogadishu International Airport]] in 1977, a special aircraft carrying State Minister [[Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski]] and the GSG 9 commandos return to [[Cologne Bonn Airport]].]]
[[File:Gsg9 fast rope 2005 05 22 file 02.jpg|thumb|right|A GSG 9 exercise in 2005]]
[[File:Gsg9.JPG|thumb|right|GSG 9 operators rappel on a building of the German [[Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)|Bundeskriminalamt]].]] Its first mission, "[[Lufthansa Flight 181|Operation Feuerzauber]]" (Operation "Magic Fire"),<ref name="GWAI1">{{Cite report|title=Executive Summary "Operation Magic Fire"|url=https://www.academia.edu/4137770|first=Mark|last=Carolla|publisher=GW Aviation Institute|location=Washington D.C.|date=2007|access-date=2023-11-09|isbn=}}</ref> immediately established GSG 9's reputation as an elite unit. This mission took place in 1977 when [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|Palestinian militants]] [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacked]] the ''Landshut'', a [[Lufthansa]] plane traveling from [[Palma de Mallorca]] to [[Frankfurt]]. They demanded the release of imprisoned members of the German [[Red Army Faction]] in exchange for the passengers and crew. The aircraft was flown to several destinations throughout the [[Middle East]]. During this time, the Lufthansa captain [[Jürgen Schumann]] was murdered by the leader of the hijackers in [[Aden]].

However, West German [[Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic of Germany)|Chancellor]] [[Helmut Schmidt]] negotiated an agreement with [[President of Somalia|Somali President]] [[Siad Barre]], allowing the West German tactical unit GSG 9 to take control of the crisis and storm the plane. Special envoy [[Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski]] and GSG 9 commander [[Ulrich Wegener]] traveled to Mogadishu with approximately 60 GSG 9 commandos, organized into two units.<ref>{{cite news |title=Der Preis für die Befreiung der Mogadischu-Geiseln |trans-title=The price for the liberation of the Mogadishu hostages |language=German |first=Sven Felix |last=Kellerhoff |date=30 July 2009 |access-date=27 July 2021 |publisher=WeltN24 GmbH ([[Axel Springer SE]]) |work=[[Welt (German TV channel)|WELT]] |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article4223574/Der-Preis-fuer-die-Befreiung-der-Mogadischu-Geiseln.html |publication-place=[[Berlin]], [[Germany]] |archive-date=31 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731111403/https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article4223574/Der-Preis-fuer-die-Befreiung-der-Mogadischu-Geiseln.html |editor1-first=Mathias |editor1-last=Döpfner |editor2-first=Oliver |editor2-last=Michalski |editor3-first=Stefan |editor3-last=Aust |editor4-first=Ulf |editor4-last=Poschardt }}</ref>

Following a four-day odyssey, the hijackers directed the [[Boeing 737]] to [[Mogadishu]], [[Somalia]], where they waited for the arrival of the Red Army Faction members after the German government had (falsely) signaled they would be released. On the night between October 17 and 18, Somali ranger units created a distraction while members of GSG 9 stormed the plane.<ref>Interview with Ulrich Wegener, [https://www.welt.de/politik/article1260097/Ich_war_ueberzeugt_dass_es_laufen_wuerde.html Welt Online, 13. Oktober 2007] retrieved on 12-01-2008</ref>

The operation lasted seven minutes and was successful, with all hostages rescued. Three hijackers were killed, and the fourth was critically wounded. Only one GSG 9 member and one flight attendant were slightly injured. The international counter-terrorism community applauded GSG 9 for their excellent and professional handling of the situation, as assaults on planes are considered to be one of the most difficult operations a hostage rescue force can attempt. To support the GSG 9 action, two accompanying British [[Special Air Service|SAS]] advisers provided some newly developed [[Stun grenade|flash bang grenades]], but these were ultimately not used due to the fire risk inside the aircraft cabin.

===Publicly known missions===
*13–18 October 1977: [[Lufthansa Flight 181]] was hijacked by four Palestinian militants demanding the release of imprisoned [[Red Army Faction]] (RAF) members. After an odyssey through the [[Middle East]], GSG 9 officers stormed the aircraft on the ground in [[Mogadishu]], Somalia, freeing all 87 [[hostage]]s and four of the five crew members. They killed three hijackers and captured the remaining one, who was critically wounded.
*1982: Arrest of RAF militants [[Brigitte Mohnhaupt]] and [[Adelheid Schulz]].
*27 June 1993: Arrest of RAF militants [[Birgit Hogefeld]] and [[Wolfgang Grams]] in [[Bad Kleinen]]. The theory that Wolfgang Grams was executed in revenge for the death of GSG 9 operative [[Michael Newrzella]] during the mission (Grams had shot and killed Newrzella when Newrzella tried to tackle him) was discredited by the official investigation which found that Grams committed suicide.
*1993: Ending of the [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking]] of a [[KLM]] flight from [[Tunis]] to [[Amsterdam]], redirected to [[Düsseldorf]], without firing a single shot.
*1994: Ended a hostage situation in the [[Kassel]] [[Prison|Penitentiary]].
*1994: Involved in the search for the [[Kidnapping|kidnappers]] Albert and Polak.
*1998: Arrest of a man trying to extort money from the German railway company ''[[Deutsche Bahn]]''.
*1999: Arrest of [[Metin Kaplan]] in [[Cologne]].
*1999: Arrest of two suspected members of the ''Revolutionäre Zellen'' ([[Revolutionary Cells (German group)|Revolutionary Cells]]) in [[Berlin]].
*1999: Involved in ending the hostage situation in the central bank in [[Aachen]].
*2000: Advised the [[Philippines]] in relation to a hostage situation.
*2001: Arrested two spies in [[Heidelberg]].
*2001: Assisted in the liberation of four German tourists in [[Egypt]].
*2002: Arrested a number of suspects related to the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]].
*2003: Protection of the four members of the German ''[[Technisches Hilfswerk]]'' (THW – the civil protection organization of [[Germany]]) in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]]. The THW's mission was to repair the [[water distribution system]].
*2004: GSG 9 is responsible for protecting German embassy property and personnel, including the embassy in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]]. On 7 April 2004, two members were attacked and killed near [[Fallujah]] while in a convoy traveling from [[Amman]], [[Jordan]] to Baghdad. The men, aged 25 and 38, were traveling in a car at the rear of the convoy and therefore received most of the enemy fire after passing the [[ambush]]. The men were shot after their armored [[Mitsubishi Pajero]]/Shogun was hit and stopped by [[rocket-propelled grenade|RPG]]s. In a later statement, the attackers apologized for mistaking the German convoy for an American convoy. One of the bodies is still missing.
*2007: Three suspected terrorists were seized on Tuesday, 4 September 2007 for planning huge bomb attacks on targets in Germany. The bombs they were planning to make would have had more explosive power than those used in the [[2004 Madrid train bombings|Madrid]] and [[Timeline of the 2005 London bombings|London]] terror attacks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/more-deadly-than-london-or-madrid-islamist-terrorists-planned-massive-attacks-in-germany-a-504037.html|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602165053/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,504037,00.html|title=More Deadly than London or Madrid: Islamist Terrorists Planned Massive Attacks in Germany|first1=Matthias|last1=Gebauer|first2=Yassin|last2=Musharbash|date=5 September 2007|archivedate=2 June 2012|via=www.spiegel.de}}</ref> They wanted to build a bomb in southern Germany capable of killing as many as possible. [[Fritz Gelowicz]], 29, Adem Yilmaz, 29, and Daniel Schneider, 22, were charged with membership in a terrorist organization, making preparations for a crime involving explosives, and, in Schneider's case, attempted murder.<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Marcel|last1=Rosenbach|first2=Holger|last2=Stark |date=4 September 2008|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-bomb-plot-terror-from-the-german-heartland-a-576332.html|url-status=dead |title=The Bomb Plot: Terror from the German Heartland |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105212006/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,576332,00.html|archivedate=5 November 2011 |via=www.spiegel.de}}</ref>
*2009: The GSG 9 were on the verge of boarding a German freighter, the [[MV Hansa Stavanger|MV ''Hansa Stavanger'']], which had been hijacked by [[Piracy in Somalia|Somali pirates]]. The case of the ''Hansa Stavanger'', at this time off the Somali coast seemed sufficiently symbolic to justify another potentially successful rescue operation, though on a much larger scale. More than 200 GSG 9, equipped with helicopters, speedboats, and advanced weapons, had been secretly brought, via [[Kenya]], to a location {{convert|80|km|mi}} from the German freighter. The [[United States Navy]] [[helicopter carrier]] {{USS|Boxer|LHD-4|6}} was lent to the Germans to act as their flagship, and a screen of [[German Navy]] warships flanked the ''Boxer''. The ships had been patrolling near the ''Hansa Stavanger'' for days, waiting at a distance to evade detection on the pirates' radar screens. But the operation was called off before the rescue effort could begin. US National Security Advisor [[James L. Jones]] had called the [[German Chancellery|Chancellery]] to cancel the operation. The US government, worried that the operation could turn into a suicide mission, was sending the USS ''Boxer'' back to the Kenyan port of [[Mombasa]], where the German forces were to disembark. Officials at the German Federal Police headquarters in Potsdam, outside Berlin, concerned about the potential for a bloodbath, had also spoken out against the operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,622766,00.html|title=Mission Impossible: German Elite Troop Abandons Plan to Free Pirate Hostages|author=((SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg, Germany))|date=4 May 2009|work=SPIEGEL ONLINE|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref>
*2012: GSG 9 was involved in a raid on the [[Hanover]] [[Hells Angels]] chapter leader [[Frank Hanebuth]]'s house, as part of a crackdown on the group. During the raid, they knocked down the wooden gate and rappelled from a helicopter onto his residence. They are also reported to have shot a dog on the premises belonging to Hanebuth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18195006|title=German police target Hells Angels in large-scale raids|work=BBC News|date=24 May 2012|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref>
*2016: GSG 9 was deployed to assist with the [[2016 Munich shooting]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/live/xatezzbcvxxy/updates/2783ab54-503b-11e6-ac11-0e81bf422d7b|title=[live] Shooting in Munich shopping center|date=22 July 2016 |access-date=2016-07-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/aktuelle_stunde/status/756555622972260352|title=WDR Aktuelle Stunde on Twitter|access-date=2016-07-22}}</ref>
*2021: GSG 9 was participating in the [[Manhunt for Jürgen Conings|search for Jürgen Conings]], Belgium.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hbvl.be/cnt/dmf20210521_94065626|title=Veel aanzien en een aura van onoverwinnelijkheid: dit zijn de Duitse speciale eenheden|date=21 May 2021 |access-date=2021-05-21}}</ref>
*2022: GSG 9 units were involved in raids to arrest members of the [[Reichsbürger movement]] suspected of [[2022 German coup d'état plot|plotting to overthrow]] the German government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/razzia-reichsbuerger-staatsstreich-101.html|title=Razzia wegen geplanten Staatsstreichs|access-date=2022-12-07}}</ref>

The majority of GSG 9's missions are [[Classified information|classified]], with limited public information available. Since its inception, GSG 9 has participated in over 1,500 missions, yet reportedly fired shots on only five occasions (official count before the 2003 [[Iraq War]]). These occasions include Mogadishu in 1977, [[Bad Kleinen]] in 1993, [[Aachen]] in 1999, and two more missions where firearms were discharged to neutralize dogs of the persons being arrested.