Elite special forces are some of the best-trained and most formidable units a country can boast.

They go where other troops fear to tread, scoping out potential threats, taking out strategic targets, and conducting daring rescue missions.

These really are the best of the best.

Though it's extremely difficult to rank these forces relative to one another, there are some units that rise above the rest in their track record and the fear they instill in their adversaries.

These troops have been through rigorous training exercises designed to weed out those who can't hit their exacting standards.

In a world in which the sheer size of a country's military is no longer the only guide to its effectiveness, these troops are the ones that states look to in order to get the job done.

8. The Special Services Group, SSG, in Pakistan is better known in the country as the "Black Storks" because of the commandos' unique headgear. Training reportedly includes a 36-mile march in 12 hours and a 5-mile run in 50 minutes in full gear.

In October 2009, SSG commandos stormed an office building and rescued 39 people taken hostage by suspected Taliban militants after an attack on the army's headquarters.

Se more here at source
Source: http://www.todaynewsreview.com/p/429/top-8-most-elite-special-forces-in-the-world

7. Spain's Unidad de Operaciones Especiales, or the Naval Special Warfare Force as it has become since 2009, has long been one of Europe's best-respected special forces. Originally established as the volunteer Amphibious Climbing Company unit in 1952, it has since followed the SAS' example to become an elite fighting force.

Earning the UOE green beret, however, is a big ask, with the failure rate of candidates averaging 70% to 80%. It's not uncommon for 100% of would-be new recruits to be rejected.

6. Russia's Alpha Group is one of the best-known special forces units in the world. This elite antiterrorism unit was created by the KGB in 1974 and remains under its modern-day counterpart, the FSB.

Russian special forces, and the Alpha Group in particular, came under criticism during the 2002 Moscow hostage crisis in which 129 hostages died from the effects of the gas used to knock out militants who had seized a theatre.

5. Few of the world's counterterrorism forces can compete with France's National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, or GIGN. The group is 200 strong and trained specifically to respond to hostage situations. It claims to have freed more than 600 people since it was formed in 1973. It is against French law to publish pictures of its members' faces.

One of the most extraordinary episodes in the GIGN's history was the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979. Because of the prohibition on non-Muslims entering the holy city, a team of three GIGN commandos briefly converted to Islam before helping the Saudi armed forces plan the recapture of the mosque.

4. Israel's Sayeret Matkal is another of the world's most elite units. Its primary purpose is intelligence gathering, and it often operates deep behind enemy lines. During the selection camp (Gibbush), would-be recruits endure hardcore training exercises while being constantly monitored by doctors and psychologists. Only the strongest get in.

In 2003, Israeli taxi driver Eliyahu Gurel was kidnapped after transporting four Palestinians to Jerusalem in his cab. But the Sayeret Matkal unit located and rescued him from a 10-meter pit in an abandoned factory in a suburb of Ramallah.

3. The British Special Air Service, known commonly as the SAS, is the infantry counterpart to the Special Boat Service. Their insignia bears the phrase "Who dares wins." Asked about the importance of the SAS' role in the fighting that followed the Iraq war, US Gen. Stanley McChrystal responded: "Essential. Could not have done it without them."

2. The UK equivalent of the Navy SEALS is the Special Boat Service. The selection process involves a grueling endurance test, jungle training in the rain forests of Belize, and combat survival training, which involves intense interrogation of candidates. And you get only two attempts to pass.

1. The US Navy SEALS might one-up even the Marines. To join their ranks, you have to be able to do a minimum of 42 push-ups in two minutes, 50 sit-ups in two minutes, and a 1.5-mile run in 11 minutes. And that's before training starts.

The US Marines are hardcore in their own right. Below, a US Marine drinks the blood of a cobra during a jungle-survival exercise with the Thai navy as part of the "Cobra Gold 2014" joint military exercise.

Quality over Quantity any time any day.....

This problem with this country is that they have the latter due to being 'fantastically corrupt' and thats why BH and F.herdsmen are still causing tension everywhere ...

I imagine if Bin Laden was terrorising this country the way he did to U.S, 98% possibility that they'll be on their knees begging for him to negotiate with them ....

I wanna join the U.s. Navy SEALS . I can do 100 push-ups in 180 seconds, 100 sit-ups in 190 seconds and I can run 2 miles in just 120 seconds .

All this oyibo can rate anyhow
Where is our special force in Nigeria
Nigeria well trained Mopol und DSS

shout to them S Fs...awa gallant

seunny4lif:
All this oyibo can rate anyhow
Where is our special force in Nigeria
Nigeria well trained Mopol und DSS

Abeg, nitori olohun, remove the Amerikan navy seals/marines from that list.

The navy seals is no longer an elite special force. Amerika was quick to change their name to “US Sailors” after they were humiliated, beaten, slapped & disarmed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the strait of hormuz.

Goddamnit! They were even crying like bunch of sissies live on TV.

If it is by drinking the blood of cobra, I can also do that & even add the blood of python, so please stop raping our intelligence here on Nairaland.

Zoharariel:
Abeg, nitori olohun, remove the Amerikan navy seals/marines from that list.

The navy seals is no longer an elite special force. Amerika was quick to change their name to “US Sailors” after they were humiliated, beaten, slapped & disarmed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the strait of hormuz.

Goddamnit! They were even crying like bunch of sissies live on TV.

If it is by drinking the blood of cobra, I can also do that & even add the blood of python, so please stop raping our intelligence here on Nairaland.