NEW DELHI – Indian elite National Security Guards (NSG) commandos to bedeployed in occupied Kashmir after the failure of security forces to curbfreedom struggle.

NSG has approached the home ministry and top national security planners forpermission to send its “house intervention teams (HIT)” in support ofcounter-terrorism operations conducted by the army and security forces inJammu and Kashmir.

North Block officials confirmed this and saidlink>link>link>NSGlink> is doing this in order to maintainits cutting edge as well as acquire much-needed on-field operationalexperience for its experts.

The link>link>link>NSGlink> proposal comes in the wake ofsecurity forces losing troopers in high-risk house intervention operations,used to neutralise holed up terrorists or fidayeens (suicide attackers) indensely populated localities of the valley.

Normally, security forces try to tire out the terrorists by constantlyfiring at the adversary with high caliber weapons. The rate of firing isoften such that the structure collapses or catches fire with the holed upterrorists being collateral damage.

The link>link>link>NSGlink> HIT teams use state of the artHeckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine guns, gas guns, M 107 Barret sniperrifles, through-the-wall radars, corner shot rifles and C-4 explosives toneutralize holed-up terrorists with minimum casualties and damage to thestructure. A typical link>link>link>NSGlink> HIT team has six troopers led by anon-commissioned officer along with demolition experts and crack marksmen.

While the Modi government is considering NSG’s proposal positively, theelite force has also offered to let its HIT teams serve under the commandand control of the army in special counter terrorism operations in theValley. A similar offer has been made bylink>link>link>NSGlink> to CRPF, a paramilitary forceinvolved in counter-insurgency activities in the restive state.