I read a book about them titled "Kopasus".
Mixed track record - impressive achievements sometimes, tainted by
human rights offences especially murder.
Trained and funded by US at first and abandoned later on due to US
foreign policy shift. They didn't have enough funds and had to be
very resourceful at obtaining equipment and weapons.
They are highly-trained and highly motivated. They also have a
counter-terrorist unit - Kopassandha - which performed a successful
hostage rescue in Thailand's airport in 1981. If I remember
correctly, 2 of Kopassus members were killed, one by friendly-fire
or accidental discharge during the assault. Their weapon for the
raid, I think, was the Uzi.
"The (terrorist) group, dubbed 'Komando Jihad' , succeeded in
bombing the Borobudur Buddhist temple in Central Java and in 1981
hijacked a Garuda aircraft to Bangkok. This hijacking was ended by
a group from Kopassandha (Komando Pasukan Sandhi Yudha, or Covert
War Force Command - an earlier name for Kopassus), who boarded the
plane and killed three of the hijackers (one of whom was shot dead
while being escorted from the plane), the other two being killed on
the return flight to Jakarta "
They really don't believe in taking prisoners.
