Myanmar operation: How a crack team of 70 commandos killed 38 insurgents in 40 minutes

In a first such cross-border operation, special forces of the Indian Army in coordination with the Air Force on Tuesday, carried out a surgical strike inside Myanmar, killing 38 insurgents of groups believed to be responsible for the deadly ambush in Manipur that killed 18 soldiers on June 4. Seven others were also injured. The strike was carried out by a crack team of about 70 commandos of the Indian Army who finished the operation within 40 minutes. 

How the operation was planned

The operation was guided by "specific and precise" intelligence input, highly placed sources have said.

Once on the ground, the contingent of the special forces split into two groups and headed for two camps being run by NSCN(K) and KYKL, who are believed to be responsible for the deadly ambush on June 4, they said.

The teams trekked through the thick jungles for at least five kilometers before they reached the training camps. "Each of the two teams were further divided into two sub-groups. While one was responsible for the direct assault, the second formed an outer ring to prevent any of insurgents from running and escaping," the sources said.

Thermal imagery was also used to track the operation about which Myanmarese authorities were kept in the loop, they said. Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force were put on standby, ready to be pressed into service to evacuate the commandos in case anything went wrong.  "The operation was carried out based on specific and very accurate intelligence" and the operation was overseen by General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, the sources said.

Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who had postponed his trip to UK for the operation, was coordinating from the Army headquarters. The decision to go in for a hot pursuit was taken just hours after the ambush on June 4 in a meeting that was chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Suhag and others.  

At the June 4 meeting, it was initially suggested that the attack on militants camp should be carried out the very next day, the sources said but the Army Chief expressed his inability to carry out the strike at such a short notice. However, it was decided that the strike has to be executed as early as possible since a "hot-pursuit" normally is carried out within 72 hours of an incident by militants. Then, the top security establishment decided that the attack would be carried out on Monday and General Suhag was asked to make all the preparations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the go ahead to the Indian Army for "hot pursuit" of militants into Myanmar, Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore disclosed on Tuesday.

How the operation was executed

The operation began early on Tuesday morning and ended by afternoon. Elite commandos of the army went a few kilometres inside Myanmar territory to destroy two camps of insurgents belonging to NSCN(K) and KYKL outfits and suspected to be responsible for the attacks in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh last week. The actual operation (hitting the camp and destroying it) took about 40 minutes. Not only did the commandos kill those present at the camps in gun fight, during which rocket launchers were also used, one of the camp was also set afire. PTI sources, quoting ground reports, said 38 militants were killed and seven others were injured in the strike.

The army is said to have sent a communique to their Myanmar counterparts only minutes before embarking on the operation.

The Indian ambassador met a minister from Myanmar after the government offices opened at around 9 am in the morning. The operation was well underway at that time. 

Army Statement on Mil Ops this morning along Indo-Myanmar border in Nagaland and Manipur. (Better Copy) pic.twitter.com/BFnfFG9VrO

— Sitanshu Kar (@SpokespersonMoD) June 9, 2015

The Indian ambassador met a minister from Myanmar after the government offices opened at around 9.00 am in the morning. The operation was well underway at that time. 

Indo-Myanmar relations

A controversy over the cross border operation is unlikely, as there is a treaty between the two countries from the 1990s, on operations across the border. 

Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a former colonel, said, "We crossed over to the Myanmar territory. We have good relations with them and we carried out the strike."

Additional director general of military operations, Major General Ranbir Singh has said that more such operations, in cooperation with Myanmar authorities, could be planned in future.

(With PTI inputs)