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Marcos to the rescue |
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By: J Dey |
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Date:
2008-11-28 |
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Place: Mumbai |
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armed and ready: Navy's special squad was instrumental
in countering the terror attack. pic/bipin kokate | It's a little known fact that the Indian Navy's marine commandos, also known as Marcos, were the first ones to be pressed into service at the Taj Mahal Hotel on Wednesday night.
They were airlifted from the naval base at INS Abhimanyu near Uran around midnight yesterday.
The three groups of 10 Marcos each were equipped with state-of-the-art AK-104 rifles, Russian OSV-96 heavy sniping rifles, Galil sniper rifles and Negev Light Machine Guns. Naval spokesperson Captain Manoharan Nambiar confirmed that Marcos have a whole range of arms and equipment required to deal with any situation.
The teams fanned into the hotel premises, with one team storming the lobby and securing the area. Sources informed that the presence of Marcos in the lobby forced the terrorists to move to the upper floors to avoid direct confrontation.
Commandos from the National Security Guards (NSG) joined the operation around 5 am yesterday. Marcos and NSG commandos carried out controlled blasts to break into the rooms to rescue guests.
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