Ben Curtis / AP Photo
The U.S. has expanded its secret intelligence forces in Africa, with Special Operations forces establishing a network of small airbases to spy on terrorist hideouts, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. According to documents, and people involved in the project, the operation uses small, turboprop aircraft with hidden sensors that can record full-motion video, track infrared heat patterns, and vacuum radio and cellphone signals—but are disguised as private planes. Mainly based out of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, dozens of U.S. personnel and contractors have traveled there to work under the classified surveillance program known as Creek Sand. The U.S. began building its presence in Burkina Faso in 2007, and since then, about a dozen Air Force bases have been established throughout Africa, including in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and the Seychelles.