Myanmar operation: How the Indian Army crossed the border and completed mission in 45 minutes

NEW DELHI: Army sources said on Tuesday that at least 20 militants were killed in the operations across the border in Myanmar and conceded that retaliatory attacks were a possibility in the coming days. "We would keep up pressure on them," one senior officer said, indicating the possibility of more such cross-border operations.

And unlike what has been reported in the media, an Army source said: "There was no heli-drop. It was a one-night, ground operation. We couldn't have carried out a heli-drop because that would have alerted the militants." The SF troops were moved close to the border in advance by helicopters.



On Monday night, about 20-25 commandos trekked across the porous frontier into Myanmar. For some stretch of the approach to the camps, the commandos crawled to move in undetected.

About 25 commandos of the 21 Para Special Forces (SF) battalion were involved in the 45-minute-long raids on two militant camps across the India-Myanmar border. An SF battalion usually comprises four teams, each of about 100 commandos. These are further divided into groups and then into squads.

According to sources, these highly-trained Special Forces personnel had been operating in Jorhat, Assam, and surrounding areas. "They are trained for such operations, so the turnaround wasn't very long," one source said. These operations are part of the ongoing Operation Hifazat in the Nagaland-Manipur-Arunachal Pradesh area, but this top secret cross-border raid had no specific name.

Once specific intelligence inputs came on the two camps, showing that they were hou ing several NSCN(K) militants, and of other groups such as PLA ( Peoples Liberation Army of Manipur), UNLF (United National Liberation Front) and the MNRF (Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front), the plan for the commando raid moved quickly . "Inputs clearly said that some militants in the camp were involved in the attack on our troops in Chandel last Thursday," one source said.



At a camp in the Ponyu area, the NSCN(K)'s 3rd brigade is based. And among its cadres were those who participated in operations against the Army. In Aungzeya area was the other camp which housed a mixed group of militants. Both camps had about 25 militants. "There was only a bit of resistance. We almost completely surprised them," a source said. "The militants didn't expect India to cross the border. That barrier has been breached."

MHA says 50 dead, Army 20

More than 24 hours after the Special Forces' raid on militant camps in Myanmar, there was no credible confirmation about the final toll. Some sources put the total number of dead at about 100. But army sources said their final count was 20.According to army, 11 militants suffered serious injuries while 15 others suffered light injuries Meanwhile, MHA sources said the toll was around 50 at least.