Up against motivated professional terrorists: Indian Navy

Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) The Indian Navy, two of whose marine commandos were injured in an exchange of fire with terrorists at the Taj Palace and Tower here, said Thursday it was up against a group of ‘highly motivated’ militants.

‘We are up against highly motivated forces. My commandos have told me that we are up against professional terrorists who have done their homework well and know how to cause maximum damage,’ Vice Admiral J.S Bedi, the flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command.

The marine commandos were deployed at midnight following a request from Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johny Joseph.

‘Two teams of marine commandos were deployed in at the Taj hotel. They started checking rooms and floors in what was basically a flushing out operation. Somewhere on the second floor, there was an exchange of fire with the terrorists in which two commandos were injured,’ Bedi added.

‘One of them was seriously injured but is out of danger now. The other suffered splinter injuries,’ he said.

‘Explosives, grenades, shells, AK-47s, knives, dry fruits and ATM cards were also recovered by the marine commandos from the Taj hotel. The teams then withdrew from the hotel and National Security Guards (NSG) took over,’ the officer added.

‘Thereafter, the commandos undertook surveillance on the approaches to Mumbai harbour. We have also sought aircraft from coast guard also for patrolling the coastline,’ Bedi said.

Naval sources unhappy with chaotic situation
28 Nov 2008, 0102 hrs IST, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: Naval sources say they are unhappy with the chaotic situation near both the hotels with civilian bystanders and television media crews
severely impeding operations. According to these sources, the state police was completely unprepared to provide even support functions in such a situation.

For instance, people exiting the hotels were not properly screened thus making it likely that terrorists themselves may have abandoned their weapons and mingled with hostages who were using the various fire escapes.

Vice Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi, C-in-C, Western Naval Command, refused to comment on the ongoing gun-battle except to say that “these terrorists are highly trained, heavily armed and have probably done a detailed recce of these locations in advance.”

Highly placed sources at the Western Naval Command, Mumbai, have confirmed to ET that the injured Naval Marine Commando who was evacuated from the gunfight at the Taj Mahal Hotel is out of danger. According to these sources, the naval commando team has not yet suffered any fatalities. The Naval marine commandos better known as MARCOS, were the first elite force to be called to the scene of the terror attacks and two teams were assembled by midnight. Two ‘prahaars’ (a prahaar is a strike force of 8-9 MARCOS) entered the Taj Mahal hotel while another one and a half prahaara were sent to The
Trident where they remained on standby and did not enter the hotel.

Meanwhile, defence PRO in Mumbai Captain Nambiar confirmed that a dead body has been found in a trawler intercepted off the coast of Mumbai. It is being brought back to Mumbai where it along with crew will be handed over to the police.

Vulnerability of coastline in focus

Vinay Kumar & Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Even as elite commando units from the Navy and the National Security Guard mounted operations to flush out terrorists from the Taj and Trident-Oberoi hotels on Thursday, security and intelligence agencies stressed on the vulnerability of India’s 7,516-km coastline along nine States and four Union Territories.

Though the “Coastal Security Scheme” was launched in March 2006 by the Union Home Ministry, the breach of coastline in Mumbai on Wednesday by terrorists showed they could enter through the gaps.

As Mumbai’s nightmarish terror attacks began and the security and intelligence agencies apprehended its gravity, arrangements were made to fly the first lot of commandos in an IL-76 military transport aircraft, owned by the Aviation Research Centre of the Research and Analysis Wing, at 3 a.m. With two large troop transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force arriving from Chandigarh at dawn, the remaining contingents of the NSG and the Army were flown to Mumbai on Thursday morning.

The IAF now has seven aircraft on standby at the Delhi airport, including four medium sized AN-32 troop transport aircraft. It has also placed three helicopters at the disposal of the authorities in Mumbai following a request by the State government. A mine detection unit has reached Mumbai from Pune. The armed forces now have 800 Army personnel and five ‘Prahar’ units of the Marine Commandos (Marcos) on assault deployment along with the NSG around three buildings where terrorists are still believed to be holed up.

Along the coast from Mumbai to Gujarat, ships were being intercepted and checked by the Navy and the Coast Guard. “So far all the ships we checked were clean,” naval sources said. Two Marcos were injured but both were stated to be out of danger.

Briefing journalists on Thursday, Special Secretary (Internal Security) M.L. Kumawat said terrorists landed in the Sasoon dock in Mumbai. Efforts were being made to “backtrack” and trace their route. Admitting that the name of “Deccan Mujahideen,” said to be behind the worst ever terror attack in the country, was being taken for the first time, he said the exact number of terrorists who sneaked into Mumbai was being ascertained.

Sources in the Home Ministry said the Coastal Security Scheme was being given top priority for setting up 73 coastal police stations, 97 check posts, 58 outposts and 30 barracks. About 50 of the 73 approved coastal police stations had already been made operational, the sources said.

Under the scheme, the coastal police stations were to be equipped with 204 boats, 149 jeeps, 312 motorcycles for increasing mobility of the police personnel on the coasts and in close coastal waters.

The scheme has been reviewed by the Home Ministry from time to time. As part of the scheme, 10 police stations in Gujarat and 12 in Maharashtra were to be set up. The Coast Guard has also been imparting training to different State police personnel in mounting maritime vigil.

Sources said that steps had been taken in the recent past to strengthen joint coastal patrolling off the coasts of Gujarat and Maharashtra as security concerns, voiced by the intelligence agencies, pointed to the gaps in the country’s long coast line.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112851710100.htm Six columns of the Army, 200 commandos for NSG and Naval commandos (Marcos) have been deployed for flushing out the terrorists. Commando operations in Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House are under way and it is likely to be over by Friday morning. The operations are being carried out by the NSG and they are methodically clearing the floors of the buildings which are under siege, Mr Deshmukh said.

Marine commandos resume operations at Taj, Oberoi Hotels
Sandeep Unnithan
New Delhi, November 27, 2008
http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index ... ectionid=4
In what appears to be a sign of the heavy odds against the Black Cats battling terrorists holed inside the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the Navy marine commandos have been pressed back into action.

Vice Admiral J.S. Bedi, Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command told India Today that nearly 30 'Marcos' had been sent back into the two hotels to assist NSG with the hostage situation.

Eighteen marine commandos were rushed into the Taj Mahal Hotel from their base INS Abhimanyu at Karanja across the harbour, an hour after the western naval command received a request for assistance from the Maharashtra government.

The Marcos battled the terrorists and cleared over 40 suites in the old hotel until the arrival of the Black Cat commandos who were flown in from New Delhi early on Wednesday morning.

Final assault at Nariman House takes dramatic turn

In what is turning out to be India’s longest battle against terror, gunshots and explosions at Mumbai’s Nariman House continued to make headlines. Nearly 33 hours after the financial capital of the country was struck by terror, National Security Commandos launched ‘Operation Top Down’ to end hostage drama in South Mumbai’s residential pocket. All the exit points at Nariman House have been sealed and NSG commandoes were air dropped minutes after 7.30 AM, Friday morning. Fire brigades, ambulances have been put on hold, in case the militants decide to blow up the premises. Army sources however, are counting on the ultras lack of energy to sustain and keep up the offensive.

MSN brings you images of Operation Top Down as NSG commandos take positions on roof top at Nariman House. The operation is expected to last for about 2 hours.
Minutes after 7.30 am Friday morning, two military choppers carrying 12 NSG commandos approached Nariman House. Indian Special forces dramatically slithered down ropes to the roof of a five storey building, where the militants are holed up. Earlier, three explosions were heard at the Nariman House. Two explosions followed in quick succession around 2.30 a.m. and a third was heard just before 5 a.m. Gunshots erupted from the Nariman House around 7 a.m. as the commandos on the ground were taking position. A second round of firing was heard about 15 minutes later.

First of the choppers dropped six commandos, their ankles gripping the rope climbed down to the roof of Nariman House. The commandos are equipped with AK -47s and little else that is visible in the camera shot. Sources said that armed forces waited for morning light to carry out Operation Top Down.

The second helicopters arrived soon thereafter with another six to eight commandos. The premises on which they landed are believed to have some six to eight hostages. Nariman House is one of the three buildings that have been under siege since Wednesday evening. It is a Jewish religious and residential complex that has been witnessing incessant gunbattle since Thursday evening after NSG commandos intensified the operation to flush out militants.

NSG commandos have taken positions for the final assault not only on the roof top but also at various floors of the building. At the ground level, reinforcement is being sent and NSG is preparing for final assault that is expected any moment now...

Wrong thread. check strat forum.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/26-update-terror-in-mumbai.htm
NSG officer dies in anti-terror op at Taj hotel

04:07 PM: NSG officer Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan shot dead in operation against terrorists at Taj hotel in Mumbai.

Marcos - bravehearts who rescued Mumbai's hostages

New Delhi (IANS): They were the least known of the special forces commandos who were pressed into an anti-terrorist operation in Mumbai. But the 25-odd elite fighters of the Marcos - acronym for marine commandos - grabbed the national and international spotlight with their all-black overalls and faces masked by black cloth.

Dubbed the "bearded forces" because of the beards that the men sported and toting AK-47 assault rifles, Indian Navy's marine commandos follow in letter and spirit the adage of the counter-terrorism doctrine: Fight a militant like a militant.

Marcos, who are trained in executing covert operations, were called in along with the National Security Guard and Army commandos take on armed militants who were holding scores of people hostage inside two luxury hotels since Wednesday night. The militants had struck in at least 10 places in Mumbai, killing 125 people and injuring 327 people.

Two Marcos received injuries during "Operation Tornado" launched to flush out terrorists at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel. Their operation continued till Friday.

"Trained sky divers and sea divers, the Marcos could sabotage enemy vessels and harbour installations. They can operate in beaches, coastal, jungles and ravines areas. Being divers, they can reach hostile shores swimming underwater," a senior Navy official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Officially known as the Indian Marine Special Force, the unit was raised in 1987 out of the Naval divers to lead amphibious operations. The personnel volunteering for the force have to undergo a rigorous two-year training, by the end of which only 10-25 percent of the enrolled commandos remain.

Marcos have been active in Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Army's counter-terrorist efforts. Their main task is to control the infiltration of terrorists from across the border into Jammu and Kashmir through the Jhelum river and Wullar, a 65 square kilometer freshwater lake. Some Marcos personnel are also attached with the Army special forces units conducting counter-terrorism operations in the area.

They operate similar to the Israeli Mistaravim units sporting beards and wearing the 'pheren' (Kashmiri suit), thus making them indistinguishable from the locals, the official added.

Marcos have gained a fearsome reputation among terrorists who refer to them as the 'Dadiwali Fauj' (Bearded Army) since they are the only non-Sikh personnel allowed to grow beards, 'Jal Murgi' (Water Hens) for the speed, in which they carry out assault from the water and 'Magarmachh' (Crocodiles) for their amphibious capability.

Recently, the elite force earned accolades for the Indian Navy after they repulsed pirates attacks off the Somali coast on an Indian and a Saudi merchant vessel on November 11. In April 1986, the Indian Navy mooted a plan for a special force, which would be able to conduct reconnaissance, raids and even counter-terrorist operations in a maritime environment.

Three Naval officers were sent for training with the US Navy SEALS and further training was conducted with British Special Forces. These three Naval officers formed the nucleus of the Indian Marine Special Force (IMSF) that was formally raised in February 1987.

The strength of the unit is a closely guarded secret. However, sources say the number could be close to 2,000 personnel. Currently, there are three main groups attached to the three Naval commands - Mumbai (West), Cochin (South) and Vizag (East).

The unit's quick rise has changed its role - it was intended to be dedicated to special maritime operations, but a considerable part of Marcos is doubling up as marine infantry with the usual flexibility of commando forces.