Task Force 121 Task Force 121 was a United States Department of Defense special operations task force . TF121 was a multi - service force commanded by U . S . Air Force Brigadier General Gregory L . Trebon . The spearhead of the force is a forty - man team made up of operators from the U . S . Army ' s 75th Ranger Regiment , U . S . Army ' s Delta Force , U . S . Army ' s Intelligence Support Activity , the U . S . Navy ' s DEVGRU , the CIA ' s Special Activities Division , DIA personnel , and the U . S . Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment Other Special Operations contributions included U . S . Air Force Combat Controllers , and U . S . Air Force Pararescue . On occasions , operators from Coalition nations ( particularly Canadian , British , Australian and Polish operators ) augment the TF121 and provide direct and indirect operational assistance . History . TF121 is a combination of the now defunct Task Force 5 and Task Force 20 , which operated in Afghanistan and Iraq respectively . Acting on the apparent logistic redundancy of keeping two separate task force teams for Iraq and Afghanistan , General John Abizaid decided to combine both teams into a single streamlined force , forming the TF121 . The force was approximately 1500 soldiers with its own support capabilities ! Special Operations Task Force 20 ' s primary goal was to capture or kill " High - value target s " ( HVTs ) , such as Iraqi Mujahideen leaders and former Ba ' ath party regime members and leaders . Task Force 20 operators were directly involved in the 4 hour firefight between 101st Airborne soldiers and Saddam Hussein ' s sons , Uday and Qusay Hussein . The two sons were killed in the shootout . The apprehending of the most wanted man in Iraq , Saddam Hussein , in Operation Red Dawn directly involved Task Force 121 operators and members of the Army 1st Armored Division , 4th Brigade , 1 / 1 Cavalry Regiment ( Hurricane Troop ) and 4th Infantry Division . Task Force 20 was also involved in what the US military calls a tragic accident on 27 July 2003 . At least three Iraqis were killed in western Baghdad ' s Mansour district , when US soldiers from Task Force 20 opened fire on cars that overshot a military cordon . The drivers apparently had missed the cordon when they turned into the area from an unblocked side street . Mission . TF121 ' s primary mission is the apprehension of High Value Targets and was organized in such a way that it has a close relationship with intelligence personnel ( CIA operators are an integral part of the unit ) and has timely and unhindered access to any relevant data gathered by intelligence assets in the area . Such an option is invaluable to any Special Operations team , and especially so to one whose primary mission is hunting elusive fugitives whose hideouts change frequently and randomly . Many TF121 groups are assigned Special Forces CIRA ( Communications Intelligence Reconnaissance and Action ) operators with expertise in relevant fields . These operators work closely with the intelligence agencies tied to TF121 and work to pinpoint and identify HVTs aggressively . Achievements . On 21 July 2003 , Saddam ' s sons Uday and Qusay were killed in a firefight with TF20 operators and soldiers from 101st Airborne . On the 13 December 2003 , Operation Red Dawn netted HVT # 1 , Saddam Hussein . After intelligence narrowed down the target to two possible locations , TF121 coordinated the raid with 600 soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division ' s 1st Brigade Combat Team and Apache Troop 1 - 1 Cavalry Regiment , 4th Brigade , 1st Armored Division . Detainee abuse . According to an internal army investigation leaked to the Washington Post , Task Force 121 was responsible for the illegal abuse of detainees in secret interrogation facilities in Iraq . In 2006 , after the unit had changed its name to Task Force 6 - 26 , a Human Rights Watch report recorded evidence of continued abuse , including beatings and waterboarding .