NEW DELHI: To prepare its commandos for special anti-Naxal operations, the National Security Guard (NSG) has begun training with Andhra Pradesh police’s specialised anti-Naxal force — the Greyhounds. This was said by top government officials. The NSG, an elite counter-terrorism unit under the home ministry, has been training with Greyhounds, one of the most successful anti-Naxal forces, for the past six weeks.
Senior officials said the NSG will not become part of the regular counter-insurgency operations, but will be pressed into service in cases of “highly-sensitive operations” in the areas dominated by red extremists, as and when the need arises.
According to sources, the plan to train the elite commandos of NSG in jungle guerilla warfare was first discussed almost eight years ago. However, the idea was implemented only one-and-a-half months ago. The training is right now being conducted in Hyderabad.
The NSG, which was raised as a federal counter-terrorist force in 1984, is trained in handling a number of high pressure scenarios — terror attacks, hostage situations and hijackings. The elite counter-terror commando force was modelled on the elite forces of UK (Special Air Services) and Germany (GSG-9).
NSG’s Black Cats were instrumental in neutralising terrorists at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the 2008 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The force also played a significant role in killing the terrorists who had attacked the Akshardham temple in Gujarat in 2002.