NEW DELHI – Indian Paramilitary commandos may soon be deployed to guard theIndian embassy and diplomatic staff in war-ravaged Iraq, following threatsfrom the ISIS terror groups, officials said.
An in-principle approval for the deployment of an armed squad at thecomplex located in the Al Mansour area of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad hasbeen accorded by the Ministries of Home and External Affairs, they said.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been tasked to provide its bestcombat personnel for the job.
They said that the commandos will have a specific task of securing theembassy, its diplomatic staff and their families against terror threats.
“Given the constant threat of the ISIS terror group in Iraq, it was beingdiscussed for a long time that the Indian embassy there should have aprofessional security cover,” a senior official privy to the developmentsaid.
“The effort to send the paramilitary commandos is a move in that direction.However, the final approval for stationing the squad in Baghdad is yet tobe given by the government,” the official said.
While there has be no targeted hit at the Indian mission in Baghdad, thecity has witnessed suicide attacks and bombings by the ISIS terrorists.
The proposed contingent would not only guard the embassy complex, but alsoprovide a proximate security cover to senior diplomats and staffers everytime they move out of the facility, he said.
Once cleared, the proposed contingent will be about 45-50 personnel strongand headed by a deputy commandant rank officer of the CRPF.
The commandos, who are highly motivated, having done a stint in theanti-Naxal operations, the forces’ elite commando squad for jungle warfareCoBRA and who have been the “best performers” will be part of the proposedcontingent, the official said.
The personnel will have to be adept in handling improvised explosivedevices (IEDs) and in conducting special operations and hostage rescuetasks, it said.
This will be the first such overseas task for the about 3-lakh personnelstrong paramilitary force. While the Indian embassy in Afghanistan isguarded by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), those in Nepal andColombo have the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and BorderSecurity Force (BF) contingents respectively.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the country’s largestparamilitary and is primarily designated as the lead internal security andanti-Maoist operations conducting force. – PTI