A creation of Marvel Comics.
The team known as Desert Sword is the superhuman arm of the Iraqi military. Their only appearance was in the Freedom Force story arc "The Killing Stroke", which can be found in the New Mutants, Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor 1991 Annuals.
In the story, Desert Sword foiled the extraction of a German scientist from Kuwait City by the U.S. endorsed Freedom Force during the Gulf War in 1991.
The ensuing conflict was brief but exceedingly bloody, resulting in deaths and serious injuries from both sides.
The 4 members of Desert Sword are as follows:
- Aminedi - A mutant named after the "desert wind". He had the ability to move at superhuman speeds, and while in this state, his touch alone could cut through even the thickest substances. Recently, it was revealed that Aminedi died from the mutant-exclusive Legacy Virus.
- Black Raazer - A demon that possesed the body of Eugene Judd (aka Puck of Alpha Flight) for several decades, and after being freed from his "prison", returned to Iraq as part of Desert Sword. Like teammate Aminedi, Black Raazer's powers include a powerful blade which can slice through most objects, causing intense pain. According to Habakkuk, Black Raazer's blade is also known (as revealed in the pages of Alpha Flight) to cause victims to shrink by 6 inches. Ouch.
- Sirocco - Named after the deadly "wind storm", Sirocco is the de facto leader of Desert Sword. Though gifted with the ability to generate strong winds, Sirocco is feared more for his cold, relentless nature.
- Veil - A rare female from a sexist regime, Veil's is capable of whipping up a thick, green mist that obscures vision, even her own. She was also able to alter the density of this mist, allowing her to choke her victims. Veil was killed during the battle with Freedom Force by Pyro.
It is interesting to note that despite this being a battle between costumed superhumans, the attitude of the comic was remarkably much more sober than typical comic book fare, with issues such as death, murder and betrayal being addressed.
Another point of interest: After the events of 9-11 (10 years later), "evil" was given a more "human" face in comic books, a "regular Joe" appearance, reflecting a shift in the times, from supervillians in spandex to more realistic "faces of terror".