Security forces preparing for final assault at Pathankot

Movement of heavily armed troops and the National Security Guard (NSG) personnel picked up at Punjab’s Pathankot airbase on Monday morning, indicating preparations for a final assault against the remaining terrorists holed up at the facility.

Soldiers armed with weapons such as rocket launchers and mortar guns besides other sophisticated weapons were seen entering the airbase in five army trucks around 9:30 am, followed by NSG personnel in three vehicles.

Punjab’s additional director general of police (law and order) Hardeep Singh Dhillon has also reportedly moved in to the base as a part of the operations.

Air Force choppers with night vision were kept airborne through Sunday night to survey the area as security forces



conducted combing operations to flush out two alleged Pakistani militants who were part of the offensive. Gunshots were heard sporadically after the midnight and also in the early hours of Monday, while three explosions added to the tense atmosphere in the morning.

Casualties on the Indian side rose to seven and around 15 injured, with a blast during a mop-up operation killing an officer of the elite NSG and three more security men succumbing to their injuries from the encounter that began over 48 hours ago. Lieutenant t Colonel Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s bomb disposal squad, died after he succumbed to injuries sustained while trying to retrieve a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist as part of the combing operations.