he special forces of Army, Navy and Air Force have been deployed in theKashmir valley to carry out combined counter-terrorist operations.
NEW DELHI – The three special forces, namely, the Indian Army`s Para(Special Forces), Navy`s Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and Indian Air Force`sGarud Special Forces are being deployed in the Kashmir valley under theDefence Ministry`s newly-raised Armed Forces Special Operations Division(AFSOD), senior Defence sources told ANI.
The induction of the joint special troops of the three forces has alreadystarted as the Army Para (SF) elements have already been inducted into anarea considered to be a traditional terror hotbed near Srinagar, they said.The elements of the MARCOS and the Garuds would also be getting fullyinducted into the anti-terrorist operations very soon, they said.
Although small teams of Navy`s MARCOS and IAF`s Garuds have been operatingin the Kashmir valley, this is the first time when the three services wouldbe deployed jointly there. The MARCOS commandos are deployed in and aroundthe Wular lake area while the Garud teams have been operating in the Lolabarea and Hajin.
The Air Force Special Forces had a very successful stint in the Kashmirvalley as they managed to eliminate six terrorists in one go in OperationRakh Hajin for which its Corporal JP Nirala was also awarded the AshokChakra posthumously. The aim of joint Special Forces deployment in theKashmir valley is to give the troops exposure of operating jointly in realoperations.
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The AFSPD has already carried out two exercises in different locationspracticing assault on strategic enemy positions and taking back capturedareas.
The first exercise of the AFSOD was in the Kutch region codenamed ExSmelling Field while the second was in Andaman and Nicobar Islandscodenamed DANX-2019. The first head of the Armed Forces Special OperationsDivision (AFSOD) is Major General Ashok Dhingra.
