CRPF's CoBRA commandos to be deployed in Kashmir

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New Delhi, July 30

Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a unit that specialises in jungle warfare to fight armed Naxals, are now being trained to deal with terrorists in urban and rural areas and plans are afoot to deploy them for operations in Kashmir, officials said today.

According to officials, the 205 CoBRA battalion, which is deployed in Bihar where the presence of Naxals has been shrinking, are now being trained to counter terrorists in urban and rural centres. They would be shifted to Kashmir soon.

The officials said the elite commandos were being trained under various units operating in Jammu and Kashmir. A senior security officer said, “As per the plan, these trained commandos are being deployed in Srinagar with the Valley Quick Action Team (QAT). The teams reached Kashmir earlier this year and are getting all relevant training.”

Since CoBRA commandos are already trained in jungle warfare, it would be an added advantage as no force operating in Kashmir has a similar experience, the officer said.

Elite force Trained in guerrilla warfare

• The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is an integral part of the CRPF
• It has 10 units, raised between 2008 and 2011
• The commandos are usually deployed in all left-wing extremism-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya