India's Military Response At Pathankot Included Rockets: 10 Points
Casspir mine resistant vehicles and BMP-2 Armoured Personnel carriers were also used.
Here are the highlights of India's military response:
- After intelligence reports of an imminent terror attack on Pathankot Air Force base, a team of the National Security Guard's Black Cat Commandos was deployed at the air base.
- Special forces teams of the Indian Army and two infantry columns of the Army (25-30 soldiers per column) were also deployed on Friday.
- Indian Air Force aircraft with thermal imaging capability, among them possibly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), detected the entry of the terrorists after 3 am in the morning.
- Overall command of the military operation was with a Brigadier of the Indian Army and later with IG (Operations), National Security Guard.
- Prompt ground action ensured that the terrorists could not hit the Indian Air Force's MiG 21 Bison fighters or Mi-35 choppers on the ground.
- NSG Black Cat commandos led the primary assault against the terrorists. They were supplemented by Army Special Forces.
- Casspir mine resistant vehicles and BMP-2 Armoured Personnel carriers were used to insert soldiers to the area of operations.
- Rockets were fired by an IAF Mi-35 attack helicopter to contain the terrorists to one area.
- Two additional columns of the Army (25-30 soldiers in each column) have been deployed as search operations continue through the night.
- Control of the air base will not be handed back to the IAF until the base is fully sanitised.