70 commandos involved in Myanmar operation
New Delhi, June 10
A crack team of about 70 commandos from 21 Para of the Indian Army carried out the surgical strike inside Myanmar territory in the thick of the night that killed 60 insurgents belonging to NSCN (K) and KYKL militant groups on Tuesday.
The commandos, equipped with assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenades and night vision goggles, were divided into two groups after they slithered down from Dhruv helicopters just inside the Indian territory near the border with Myanmar.
Once divided, the commandos of the Army's special forces headed for two camps being run by NSCN(K) and KYKL, believed to be responsible for the deadly ambush on June 4 which killed 18 soldiers and wounded 11 others.
The teams trekked through the thick jungles for at least five kilometers before they reached the training camps.
"Each of the two teams was further divided into two sub-groups. While one was responsible for the direct assault, the second formed an outer ring to prevent any of insurgents from running and escaping," security sources said.
The actual attack operation (hitting the camp and destroying it) took about 40 minutes. Not only did the commandos kill those present at the camps in a gunfight, during which rocket launchers were also used, one of the camp was also set afire.
Sources said thermal imagery was also used to track the operation.
They maintained that the Myanmarese authorities were kept in the loop.
Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force were put on standby, ready to be pressed into service to evacuate the commandos in case anything went wrong.
"The operation was carried out based on specific and very accurate intelligence" and the operation was overseen by General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, the sources said.
Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who had postponed his trip to UK for the operation, was coordinating from the Army headquarters.
The decision to go in for a hot pursuit was taken just hours after the ambush on June 4 in a meeting that was chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Suhag and others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the final clearance and the operation was coordinated by Doval.
Sources said that the Army will undertake more such operations in the region if required.
Pakistan is not Myanmar: Interior Minister to India
Islamabad: Stating that “Pakistan is not like Myanmar”, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan today warned India that his country cannot be cowed down by the threats from across the border.
Khan's statement came in response to Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's remarks that military action in Myanmar to hit back at rebels who killed 18 soldiers in Manipur was a message to other countries.
Rathore's comments were interpreted here as a warning to Pakistan.
Khan said that it should be clear to India that "Pakistan is not a country like Myanmar".
"Those having ill designs against Pakistan should listen carefully that our security forces are capable of matching response to any adventurism," he said.
Khan said that Pakistan would never accept India hegemony and that the "Indian leaders should stop day dreaming".
He said that India's "nefarious designs" will not succeed in future like in the past.
He also said that Pakistan cannot be cowed down by the threats from across the border.
The minister said that he was disappointed at regular violation of the LoC and working boundary by the Indian Army and India's refusal to start peace talks with Pakistan.
Myanmar denies India killed rebels inside its territory
Yangon: Myanmar, however, maintained that Indian forces had carried out an attack on insurgents inside India and that it would not tolerate rebel groups using its soil to attack neighbours.
In a Facebook post, Zaw Htay, director of Myanmar's presidential office, said, “According to the information sent by Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) battalions on the ground, we have learned that the military operation was performed on the Indian side at the India-Myanmar border.”
"Myanmar will not accept any foreigner who attacks neighbouring countries in the back and creates problems by using our own territory," he added. — Agencies
