Starting off our list are the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) from France. The GIGN, like many European special-forces, trace their origins back to the hostage massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The French had also experienced a prison mutiny the year before in which hostages had been taken and murdered. The result of these experiences contributed to the creation of a force which today stands at around 400 members. Specializing in anti-terrorist and hostage rescue, the GIGN have seen their share of action. Past operations have included rescuing 30 school children held hostage in Djibouti, capturing war criminals in Bosnia, battling Somali pirates and, of course, the dramatic assault and hostage rescue of passengers aboard Air France flight 8969 in Marseille in 1994.