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 nearly 20 insurgents of groups believed to be responsible for the deadly ambush in Manipur that killed 18 soldiers on June 4.

How the operation was planned

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

According to reports, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Army Chief Dalbir Singh both camped in Myanmar and did an on-ground assessment to structure the entire operation and ‘cutting edge intelligence’ was used to identify and mark the two militant groups.

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. According to reports, the two camps comprised of approximately 150 militants. The official figure of casualties is 20, but some reports suggest that the number could even be pegged at about 100. No casualties were reported among Indian soldiers.

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

The army was assisted by Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army’s para commandos that struck two camps of militants and “inflicted significant casualties.”

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.

Source: DNA India