What Happened In The Night Of The Surgical Strikes? First Details Emerge

The first official details on the cross-border surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Special Forces in 2016 were gathered by the Economic Times. The army’s version tells the stories of courage of an officer who personally killed four targets in close combat, a sniper who compromised his targets, sharpshooting into a bunker and a team that inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistani soldiers. The names are being withheld by the Economic Times because of security considerations.

No official word has been issued even on the number of militants killed across the border. However, this is the first time for official records to state that regular Pakistani Army troops suffered casualties in the strike as well.

The records showed that two officers were personally responsible for four kills each, including sentries who were taken down in the open.

One well-known trait of the Indian Army was also validated by the details -- officers lead from the front and get into active combat first, leading a team of soldiers.

Another record for a gallantry award winner states how an officer encouraged his outnumbered troops to fight the enemy.

The records also spoke of the role of a soldier who deliberately ran towards incoming fire to protect his comrades.