Pakistan Ssg Commondoes
Training And
Weapons
The
Special Services Group (
SSG) is the main special operations force of the
Pakistan Army. The SSG is a regiment sized group, and is headquartered at
Tarbela,.[2] It is headed by a Major-General and divided into ten battalions. Each battalion consists of 700 men in four companies, with each company split into platoons and then into 10-man teams. Battalions are commanded by
Lieutenant Colonels.
The SSG was first used in
1965 in the
State of
Jammu & Kashmir. In an operation codenamed
Gibraltar, their aims were continued reconnaissance, sabotage of
Indian military facilities and the eventual liberation of
Kashmir from
Indian control, though the operation was unsuccessful.[16]
The SSG lead
Operation Clean Wash to eliminate a group of terrorists in
Makkah in
1979.[17]
In the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 they were once again used, this time to assist regular infantry units and for non-conventional and rescue operations
. In the face of the massive political and military onslaught in
East Pakistan, the SSG faced Indian forces in the theatre, suffering heavy losses and could do little to turn the tide of war.[18]
Pervez Musharraf commanded a company of commandos during the war.
SSG troops arrested
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the night of 25
March 1971 during
Operation Searchlight. Upon his arrest, they sent a message to
Dhaka Cantonment headquarters saying, "
Big bird in the cage".]][citation needed]
The SSG was active in
Afghanistan in the
1980s during the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Also believed to have fought
Soviet special forces in direct combat, SSG fought in local dresses, dressed up as Jihadi conducting covert and direct action missions.
Again, when the balance of power shifted, it lead some covert operations against the very
Afghan government (Taliban) that Pakistan (along with
USA,
Saudi Arabia and
UAE) had once aided, this time as part of the allied forces in operation
Enduring Freedom. The SSG has aided the capture of many senior Al Qaeda leaders, most notably
Abu Zubaida and
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
The SSG has worked with the US
CIA's
Special Activities Division and has been active inside the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (
FATA) targeting al-Qaeda operatives for
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (
UAV)
Predator strikes.[19] These strikes have led to what has been described as highly successful counter-terrorism operations.[20][21]
The SSG has also conducted operations on the
Siachen Glacier against Indian positions at -30 temperatures on Ice covered Peaks.[citation needed]
In addition, some covert operations in
United Nations military missions in
Bosnia and Herzegovina[citation needed],
Somalia[citation needed] and
Sierra Leone[citation needed] have also been executed by SSG operators.[citation needed]
In Operation Black Thunderstorm, SSG troops abseiled from helicopters into
Daggar, a town north-west of
Islamabad, killing up to 50 militants.[citation needed]
SSG were airdropped during
Swat operation where they successfully took over Taliban hideouts at night, suffering some casualties against Killing dozens of Taliban[citation needed].
SSG have been used in
South Waziristan Operation as well in various missions to take key positions and Peaks in 2009[citation needed].
SSG were used extensively in various missions as clearance force in close quarter combat scenarios in
Operation Zarb-e-Azb[citation needed]
Counter terrorism operations
In September 1986,
Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by terrorists while it was refueling in
Karachi. As negotiations stalled and the terrorists started to kill passengers, SSG stormed the plane. The SSG killed one hijacker and captured the rest.[citation needed]
In
February 1994,
Afghan hijackers took over a school bus with 74 children and 8 teachers. They drove to the Afghan mission in Islamabad where they released 57 students but kept 16 boys and the teachers. The negotiations led nowhere and it was decided to free the hostages by force. The
Pakistani authorities had somehow managed to inform the children of the impending raid
.[22] The SSG commandos used a secondary explosion as a distraction and entered the room at the Afghan embassy where the hostages were being held, killing the three hijackers.[citation needed] The operation lasted about 20 seconds.[23]
In May
1998, three members of the
Baloch terrorists took over a
PIA Fokker plane because they were angry at the government for conducting nuclear tests in
Balochistan. As negotiations dragged, SSG commandos rushed the plane and apprehended all 3 hijackers.
None of the passengers were harmed during the assault.
- published: 11 Mar 2016
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