SRINAGAR: The anti-naxal unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) would soon be deployed to combat militants in militancy-hit Kashmir.
A security official said a contingent of Cobra commandos arrived in Srinagar a few months back and they are presently undergoing training in a CRPF training centre in the outskirts of Srinagar. “The elite Cobra commandos, who are trained for jungle warfare, are getting training for urban and rural warfare in the pre-induction training camp here. In jungle warfare, the operating procedure is totally different as compared to urban and rural warfare,” he said.
The Cobra commandos, he said, besides being trained in urban and rural warfare, are also being trained how to operate in rural and urban areas and how to consider local social and cultural factors while operating on the ground.
The conditioning camp is also being held for Cobra commandos to acclimatize them to the weather conditions of Kashmir, where temperature drops below freezing point during the winters. “Since they have come from Naxal areas, which usually have hot weather conditions, the conditioning camp will acclimatize them to the weather of Kashmir,” the security official said.
“They (Cobra commandos) may be deployed in south and north Kashmir,” he said. The Cobra commandos would also be taught the basic (Kashmiri) dialect so that they can understand the local language. The CRPF personnel to be deployed in Valley are being trained in the knowhow of the Kashmiri language for more interface with the locals. Sources said the commandos would not operate independently or carry out independent operations.