IAF personnel pay tributes to Garud Commando Jyoti Prakash Nirala in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 20

The counter-militancy training operations for the commandos of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Garud special force have dealt a blow to the force with three of its personnel losing lives in the past month.For the first time, the IAF had deployed over two dozen commandos in August in Kashmir for a period of six months. They were attached with the Army’s counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) battalions in north Kashmir to gain operational experience during anti-militancy operations.In the past over a month, three IAF commandos were killed in two anti-militancy operations in the Hajin area of Bandipora district.On Saturday, Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, 31, who was operating with the Army’s 13 RR, was martyred in the Chandrageer gunfight, that killed six Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, including Obaid, alias Osama Jangvi, a nephew of mastermind of Mumbai attacks Zakir Rehman Lakhvi.“It was unfortunate that the IAF Garud commando was deployed at a point from where all six terrorists tried to escape,” a senior Army officer said.Last month, the IAF suffered casualties during a gunfight in the same area. On October 11, two Garud special forces’ personnel — Sergeant Milind Kishor, 35, and Corporal Nilesh Kumar, 30, were killed in a gunfight in Hajin that also left two militants, including a local, dead.Though the IAF established its Garud Special Force unit in 2004, it was only after the Pathankot airbase attack in 2016 by Jaish-e-Mohammad, that the commandos were being sent for live operational experience in Kashmir during anti-militancy operations.General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt Gen JS Sandhu said the IAF commandos were here to face battle situation.“I don’t think it is a vulnerability factor. The special forces have to get operational experience. To achieve this, they have been deployed with us. During operations, we do have to face battle situations where sometimes we have to sacrifice ourselves,” Lt General Sandhu said on Sunday.Encounters in Hajin area

• On October 11, two Garud special forces’ personnel – Sergeant Milind Kishor, 35, and Corporal Nilesh Kumar, 30, were killed in a gunfight in Hajin that also left two militants dead
• On November 18, Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, 31, who was operating with the Army’s 13 RR, was martyred in the Chandrageer-Hajin gunfight, that killed six Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba militants