EKO Cobra

EKO Cobra (Einsatzkommando Cobra) is Austria's primary counter-terrorism special operations tactical unit. It is not part of the Austrian Federal Police but is directly under the control of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior.

History

The Einsatzkommando Cobra, formerly known as GEK (Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando) was formed in 1978, primarily as a response to the attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Its main office is in Wiener Neustadt, with sub-offices in Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior changed the unit's name from GEK to EKO Cobra in 2002.

The 450 men of EKO Cobra have trained with some of the most elite special forces units.

Known Operations

The EKO Cobra was involved in a hostage rescue in the Graz-Karlau Prison in 1996 and numerous other operations. Although it has never participated in the same type of hostage rescue operations that the HRT, GIGN, GIS, NSG, ERU, GSG 9 and the SAS have had, the EKO Cobra is the only Counter-Terrorism unit to end a hijacking while the plane was still in the air. On 17 October 1996, four Cobra officers were on board an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 escorting deported prisoners to Lagos when a Nigerian man threatened the cockpit crew with a knife and demanded a diversion to Germany or South Africa. The team overpowered the man and handed him over to the authorities after landing. The officers received a decoration by Russian prime minister Putin.

Eko

Eko or EKO may refer to:

See also

Cobra (1991 film)

Cobra is a 1991 Pakistani Punjabi language science fiction, and an action film directed by Shahid Rana and produced by Malik Saleem.

Cast

Crew

Soundtrack

References

External links

Cobra (comics)

Cobra is the name of a number of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most well known "Cobra" is Klaus Voorhees, now known as "King Cobra". He first appeared in Journey into Mystery #98 (Nov 1963) created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck. His nephew, Piet Voorhees, took over the name "Cobra" and first appeared in White Tiger #1 (Jan 2007) in a story written by Tamora Pierce and drawn by Timothy Liebe. Marvel has also used the moniker "Cobra" for two World War II Nazi villains and also a mercenary enemy of Moon Knight.

Klaus Voorhees was a laboratory assistant, working with a professor trying to find a cure for various poisonous snake bites. A combination of a bite from a radioactive snake and the experimental anti-venom granted him super powers, which lead to him becoming the supervillain known as Cobra. Cobra and Mister Hyde formed a criminal team for years, fighting various heroes such as Thor and Daredevil. He later became a member of the Serpent Squad and later on a member of Sidewinder's Serpent Society. During a takeover attempt by Viper Cobra actually opposed her rule and sided with Captain America to depose Viper and foiling her plans. Cobra later took the name "King Cobra" as he took leadership of the Serpent Society. When Serpent Society became Serpent Solutions under the leadership of the Viper (Jordan Stryke, a different Viper) King Cobra became a member of the group.

Cobra (album)

Cobra is a double album featuring a live and studio performance of John Zorn's improvisational game piece, Cobra recorded in 1985 and 1986 and released on the Hathut label in 1987. Subsequent recordings of the piece were released on Knitting Factory (John Zorn's Cobra: Live at the Knitting Factory (1992)), Avant (John Zorn's Cobra: Tokyo Operations '94 (1994)) and Zorn's own label Tzadik Records, (Cobra: John Zorn's Game Pieces Volume 2)) in 2002.

Reception

The Allmusic site contains two disparate reviews of the album, the first by Brian Olewnick awarded the album 3 stars stating "one is left with the nagging (and correct) sense of something crucial being missed. As a document in Zorn's career, Cobra is essential. As a purely musical experience, it is, quite unfortunately, less so".

The second review of the 2002 CD reissue by Steve Loewy rated the album 4½ stars calling it "A masterpiece of eclecticism... all presented in Zorn's wickedly demented style, which tends toward pastiche but fascinates with its energy and variety. For Zorn enthusiasts, this is a must-have release".