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Marcos, known as world's most lethal marine commandoes, rescue two ships from Gulf pirates in dramatic swoop
The waters off the Gulf of Aden off the Somalian coast is their backyard. The pirates loot ships at ease, kill if somebody comes in their way, and flee in small, fast boats.
Tuesday, however, was a very different day.
The hordes were climbing on to a Saudi Arabian and an Indian ship around 10 am after ambushing them, little knowing that arguably the world's deadliest marine commandoes were closing in on them like shadows.
These commandoes happen to be Indian - the dreaded Marcos - who were anchored on INS Tabar 25 nautical miles away. As soon as distress calls from the Saudi ship, NCC Thihama, reached them first, they took off in Russian-made Kamov helicopters.
It is rumoured that during their training in Israel and the US, the Marcos are lowered in deep wells where they need to keep swimming for a couple of hours to merely keep afloat. Para-jumping, deep-sea diving, air and underwater operations are part of regulation lessons they go through.
As they surrounded the ship, the pirates started firing. The ten-odd commandoes' machine guns blazed in response. Troops were airdropped in the sea and on the ship.
As the operation was on, calls came from the Indian merchant vessel, JAG Arnav, sailing nearby. It had been attacked too.
Another group of super-trained young men flew out. The two battles lasted an hour and a half.
At the end of it, those of the 40-45 pirates who survived fled for their lives. It is not known how many of them were killed.
The Indian commandoes were unscathed. So were the ships and their crew.
"They are trained for tougher operations, which may seem impossible to others. A Marcos man would not even remember such a 'simple' mission," said a senior Navy officer in Delhi. "Indian Naval Ships operating in piracy infected areas are always in a high state of alert and have the capability to intervene by air or ship borne weapons. Their mandate is to ensure that the safety of our sovereign assets is maintained," said Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
Incidentally, 18 Indian sailors are still trapped as hostages on hijacked Japanese ship Stolt Valor off the pirate-infested Somalian coast.
| The Crocs of Wular Lake |
The place around Wular Lake, 40 km northwest of Srinagar, is one of the rare hubs in the troubled Valley where hydel power and other projects have come up. A likely place for a militant strike.
However, even the most seasoned terrorist fears the Crocodiles of Wular, also known as the 'Dadiwali Fauj'.
We are talking about the fierce Marcos commandoes who guard the area.
Many of them sport a stubble, inspiring the 'Dadiwali' epithet, as in Navy you are allowed to grow a beard.
The Ministry of Defence did not disclose their existence till a Republic Day parade in the late '90s, at least a decade after the wing was formed.
Their signature weapon used to be a cyanide-tipped crossbow. They later traded their Rambo chic with the more realistic pistol fitted with a silencer. |
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