This Is How The NSG Commandos Eliminated The Pathankot Air Force Base Attackers

With all the six terrorists killed, authorities have said that the operation at Pathankot Air Force base is over.

PTI

The operation which went into days saw the participations of about 300 'black cat' commandos of National Security Guard (NSG) to neutralize the terrorists who had sneaked into the Air Force base in the border town of Pathankot.

While carrying out the counter-terrorism operation, the NSG suffered minor and major injuries to its 21 personnel, besides the death of its bomb squad commanding officer Lt Col E K Niranjan.

PTI

The first NSG unit comprising of 160 commands was flew out from the Palam military airbase on January 1.

Two more similar special strike units, with a strength of about 80 'black cats' each, were airlifted to Pathankot from Delhi on January 2 and 3. They joined their 'buddies' thick in operations at the sprawling airbase, house to the fighter Squadrons of the IAF.

They said it was a "New Year call" to the 24x7 'on alert' counter-terrorist unit based at its garrison in Manesar sometime in the afternoon on January 1 and the commandos of the Special Action Group (SAG) were airborne by 3pm.

PTI

The call to air-dash to Pathankot was made by the Union home ministry to the NSG headquarters, which quickly asked its force commander in Manesar to prepare the commando team for assault.

The first team were led by NSG inspector general (Operations) Major General Dushyant Singh even as Director General R C Tayal camped in Pathankot from Sunday.

The NSG commandos made extensive use of their special weapons like MP-5 assault rifles, Glock pistols, corner-shot guns and a heavy cache of door and wall-busting explosive charges to corner and eliminate the holed-up terrorists.

They said the 'buster' tools, as they are called, were also used during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks when NSG used them to blow off locked rooms and passages of five-star hotels but some of them used this time were the enhanced variants which the force has procured post the Mumbai operation.

PTI

Two terrorists, the sources said, were killed by the NSG men when they were hiding and launching continuous fire and lobbing grenades from a room where the family quarters of the Defence Security Corps (DSC) is located in the airbase. The room was later demolished by the use of heavy fire.

Half-a-dozen sniffer dogs from the canine (K 9) squad along with their handlers were also pressed into service by the NSG.

Mint

While the elite counter-terror and counter-hijack force has not given a name to the operation till now like 'Op Black Tornado' for the 26/11 Mumbai task, the force for the first time lost an officer from its bomb disposal squad.

Thirty-four-year-old Lt Col and Group Captain Niranjan was heading the unit, they said, and was trying to clear and sanitize the body of a terrorist and the surrounding area when a cleverly concealed grenade blew up fatally injuring the officer and five others.

PTI

The highly decorated officer was immediately taken to hospital where he breathed his last. He is the 19th martyr of the force which was raised in 1984 for special operations and as a federal contingency force for India.