Date – 27th July 2015; Location – Gurdaspur district of Punjab; Time – 5:30am. Three gunmen dressed in an army uniform opened fire in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, which borders with the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. The total number of deaths equaled to 10 – 4 policemen, 3 terrorists and 3 civilians, and around 15 people were injured.
Gurdaspur Terror Attack, 27th July 2015
Date – 2nd – 5th January 2016; Location – Pathankot Air Force Station, Punjab; Time – 3:30 am. Approximately 6 heavily armed people, dressed in the Indian Army uniform, breached the high-security perimeter of the Pathankot airbase. It was a suicide attack which claimed the lives of 25 people.
Pathankot Terror Base Attack, 2016
These are just 2 examples which only begin to describe the terror attacks that the Indian Army has faced in the past decade. The two major terror attacks that India faced in 2016 are – the Pathankot airbase attack in January and the Uri attack in September. Jaish-e-Mohammad was blamed by the Indian authorities for the former attack, however, the United Jihad Council claimed responsibility of the attack. According to the Director General of military operations of India, there was conclusive proof that hinted that the possible perpetrators of the URI attack was Jaish-e-Mohammad. However, later on rumors were circulated around the internet, stating that another terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba had claimed responsibility of the attack. As is known by most now, on 28th September 2016 the Indian army carried out surgical strikes on 6 terror launchpads situated in POK (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir). The main question now is, what happened during the Uri attack and the surgical strike that was carried out in retaliation to it?
Martyrs of the Uri Attack of 2016
On the 18th of September 2016, at around 5:30 am, four militants attacked an Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, near the LOC (Line of Control). This was the biggest terrorist attack on an army camp in 26 years. They lobbed 17 grenades in 3 minutes because of which the army tents caught fire. The attack killed 19 and injured 19-30 soldiers. A gun battle ensued, lasting 6 hours, during which all the four militants were killed. One of the militants was gunned down by a 19-year-old soldier from the Dogra regiment. He also challenged the other three militants and in the process was severely injured when a bullet hit his helmet. The army later recovered a map belonging to the terrorists which revealed their detailed plan of action. The location markings on the map were written in Pashtun language, which is one of the tribal languages spoken in Pakistan.
The disputed Indo-Pak territory of Kashmir
Now onto the most interesting part of the article. The surgical strike that took place in retaliation to the Uri attack. On September 28th 2016, the Indian army mobilized approximately 100 of its specially trained operators to carry out attacks at terror launchpads located in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). In the days preceding the final day, the special forces had identified their targets, the launchpads used for terrorist infiltration and surveilled them for days. In 2016, the India Today magazine did a cover story on this attack and it mentioned all the artillery that the special forces backpacked across the LOC (Line of Control – “Carl Gustaf rocket launchers, thermobaric rockets, under-barrel grenade launchers clipped on rifles and ‘Milkor’ multiple grenade launchers that spat out six 40 mm grenades in one pull of the trigger”. The statement also said that the artillery that was chosen, was chosen so that they could cause maximum structural damage.
The Special Forces targeted mainly 6 launchpads located within a five-kilometer radius of the LOC. The launchpads were located in Kel, Leepa, Athmuqam, Tattapani and Bhimber, all of which are towns/villages located in Azad Kashmir (POK). All the six launchpads were hit simultaneously and the explosions were captured on hand-held cameras and the drones of the Indian army floating above. The operation was terminated within minutes and the Special Forces did not wait back to count the casualties. They didn’t engage in small arms fire with the militants which is why the actual number of casualties on the militant’s side remains unknown to date, and only ‘guesstimates’ have been provided. However, none of the soldiers on the Indian side were injured. Only one soldier suffered injuries on his foot, which happened when he walked across a mine on his way back.
The Special Forces had blended themselves, to conceal their identities, into the rugged topography. They used unique strategies to do so –“Their combat fatigues blended into the forest, their faces were streaked with camouflage paint. Their skin was covered in a thin film of mud to suppress body odour. Their weapons had been blackened. They had lain in ambush for over 48 hours and they also used leopard urine to suppress human body odour during the operation,” one of the army officials reported to the India Today magazine. As mentioned before, the Special Forces captured visual evidence of the strike and an eight-minute long video was released to the media as a proof of the attack. One team waited past 6 am to capture the video of a camp being blown up.
The surgical strike was planned and executed within days of the Uri attack. It was highly publicized by the media and a movie too was made on it three years later. There is proper evidence to prove that both the attack and the surgical strike did happen. For those of y’all who want to read more into this, I’ve attached a few links below that could provide more insight into the attack and the strike. Additionally, I’ve also attached the actual eight-minute video that the Indian government released of the strike.
Pulwama Attack, 2019
Disclaimer: Just a reminder, this article may not be 100% accurate. Since the surgical strike was a rather secretive and sensitive operation, for obvious reasons, not all the details have been disclosed. However, I’ve attempted to make it as authentic and original as possible.
Sources:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/3-yrs-of-surgical-strikes-when-army-sent-a-strong-message-avenged-uri-terror-attack-1604414-2019-09-29
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/uri-attack-india-gives-pakistan-evidence-of-involvement-of-pak-based-terrorists/articleshow/54452204.cms?from=mdr
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uri-attack-inside-story-pashtun-map-pakistani-ammunition-jash-e-mohammed-341761-2016-09-18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Pulwama_attack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Uri_attack