Operation Deep Strike

by Rahul Badami

  “You are right Colonel, as usual.” Turning to the others, the second-in-command ordered, “Everyone fall back. I need some men near the entrance to observe the enemy movements. Inform me the moment they make any moves. Everyone else, take cover. I want one group in the barracks and the other in the facility. Await my further orders.”

  More grenades pounded the compound, but now the compound was deserted. A few minutes later it was quiet outside. Apparently, the terrorists had understood that there would be no retaliation.

  “Some of the terrorists are gathering together.” The sentry on the west checkpoint shouted.

  “That's okay. I would be interested to know what they will try next.”

  The Colonel was reminded of one of the stories from Aesop's Fables. It involved a one-eyed deer who lived on the shore, keeping the good eye towards the land, looking for hunters. The blind eye was turned towards the sea, since no dangers were expected from that direction. A hunter came to know about this. He sailed in a boat and shot the deer from the boat. The Colonel wondered if he had also turned a blind eye to the so-called impassable mountains.

  It seemed too late to dwell on it.

  Minutes passed with no activity. “They are still gathered together.”

  “Instigate them. Fire indiscriminately.”

  A couple of soldiers rushed outside, took cover against the building and started firing at the group huddled high up in the mountain. The terrorists cowered and ducked for cover. But there was no returning fire.

  Tahir understood that the terrorists would not draw themselves out in the open. “Stop firing. Get back to your positions.”

  “What are they doing? This is most unusual.”

  “And that is what worries me. They have a plan and they are working based on that. And we have to figure out what their plan is.” Tahir turned to his office, “In the meantime, I will contact the airbase in Peshawar and tell them to hightail a couple of helis in here. We are at an impasse, but not for long. Terrorists always have a Joker in their deck.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means they are insane enough to run in here and blow themselves up. If they can’t get through using firepower, they will try something unconventional. And that worries me. With the helis, we can flatten the terrorists in no time.”

  Tahir marched up to his office and contacted the Peshawar air base. A minute later, he hung up the phone, satisfied. They would be sending a couple of attack helicopters immediately. He was given an ETA for thirty minutes. He walked out back into the open sunlit mountains and looked at the ledges where undoubtedly the terrorists took refuge secure in the knowledge that they couldn’t be shot at from ground level.

  From ground level, no chance of shooting them. From an attack helicopter like the Cobra, their hideout would be pulverised into rubble in seconds.

  Tahir smirked. The terrorists were in for a nasty surprise.

  Chapter 36

  “Why aren’t we going down, Nadeem?” One of the terrorists asked.

  “We will, eventually.” Nadeem Kunduz looked down from the mountain at the facility below. The compound was deserted, except for the numerous dead bodies at the gates. His suicide bomber had succeeded in breaching the gate open. They had bombed out the soldiers who had rushed in to help. The casualties on the mountains had been minimal. They had scouted the mountains for deeply entrenched ledges from where they could shoot but not be shot at.

  Only with proper preparation comes success, and they had prepared well. He looked at the group. Till yesterday, they were from diverse factions, but today they were united in a common fight. Their goal was in their sight. He estimated that within an hour the facility would be in their command.

  An hour was more than enough for what they had planned.

  “It’s been half an hour since they have shot back at us. They have now retreated to a safe place and aren’t making any moves at attacking us.”

  “Oh, but they have already made the move.” Nadeem patted the weapon in his hand. If he understood the Army response, the weapon in his hands would come in useful.

  “What move?” The terrorist said. “I don’t see them doing anything.”

  And as if in answer, they heard the powerful rotors of two helicopters approaching from the south.

  “Get ready, brothers.” Nadeem said to the other unit commanders.

  He lifted the weapon in his hand and propped it on his shoulder. It was a surface-to-air missile. He looked through the scope and targeted the broad frame of one of the helicopters. He knew that there were four other commanders in their group doing the same thing.

  The helicopter was a Bell AH-1F Cobra, the most common attack helicopter in Pakistan. It was still far in the horizon, but was rapidly approaching. He knew that they hadn’t been detected yet, or else the helicopter would have started targeting them. It didn’t matter. In a few seconds, the helicopter’s pilot would realize he was locked on by a SAM missile. Nadeem flipped on the activator, the missile immediately locked onto the helicopter. He pressed the button. With a shudder, the SAM ejected out at a furious pace, reaching the target in seconds. Nadeem watched in satisfaction as it hit the target precisely.

  A deafening explosion sounded. The helicopter exploded in smithereens casting the flying debris everywhere. A second later, the second helicopter also blew up. His friends had synchronised the twin attacks precisely.

  “Now.” He yelled, and half of them leapt down the trail to the base of the mountain.

  The explosion of the Cobra helicopter was so powerful that Tahir felt like a knife had stabbed him straight through the heart. A fraction later he watched in disbelief as the second helicopter also exploded as it was shot by a SAM missile. The remorse stung even harder. This was all his fault. He had sent the pilots on a suicide mission.

  As he scurried under cover to evade the raining debris, anger coursed through his body. He would send out his soldiers directly to the mountains. And he himself would lead them. His logical mind told him that he couldn’t win against a high altitude enemy, but he was beyond caring. This was a question of honour. As a soldier, he had to avenge his fallen brothers. He couldn’t shirk his responsibility. They would fight till the terrorists were flushed from their hideouts. He was about to give the order, when he watched an army of terrorists racing down the mountain towards the gate.

  Their intentions were unmistakable.

  “There are multiple terrorists attacking the facility. Suggest course of action, One.” Roshan said.

  Armaan looked through the window at the gate. He could see the terrorists approaching the gate.

  “Do not engage.” Armaan said. “I repeat, do not engage. This is not our fight.”

  “But, it will soon become our fight.” Roshan replied. “The terrorists have thinned the ranks of the soldiers guarding the facility. I see only a few at the gates; and few others outside the barracks and the facility entrance. Once they reach the barracks, you may get caught in the crossfire.”

  “Looks like we are in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Baldev said. “Weaponless, defenceless and caught by the Pakistani army. Imagine the irony if we are rescued by terrorists.”

  Tahir’s soldiers were already taking covering positions and were shooting at the terrorists. But the wave of terrorists was unstoppable and the men at the gate were few. They were going to be overwhelmed soon.

  It was going to be a bloodbath.

  The guard who had been stationed outside the window was no longer there to monitor Armaan. He had already left, and was fighting the enemy. Armaan glanced at the door. To his surprise, the man at the door was also absent. He walked through the door and looked at the entrance of the barrack. The man was propped against the wall and taking out enemies using his sniper rifle. Armaan could see around twenty guards in position outside the barracks. No one was paying them any attention.

  Armaan went back in the room where Baldev gave him a questioning look.

  Armaan spoke, “Bo
ys, we may have an opportunity to escape. Right now, the enemy soldiers are distracted and will not pay much attention to us. This is our chance to escape.”

  Roshan’s voice spoke in his ear. “There are around twenty soldiers outside your barrack. You two are unarmed. You cannot simply escape from there without someone gunning you down.”

  “I know it’s downright suicidal, but an opportunity like this won’t come again. Use the Vidhwansak and provide covering fire as we try to escape.”

  There was a pause and then Roshan’s reluctant voice came in, “Yes, Armaan, I will do my best.”

  Armaan nodded silently. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only plan they had. He walked out of the room with Baldev at his side. He glanced at the windows of the barracks. All of them were barricaded with iron grills like the one in his room. The only way out was through the door. He could see it twenty metres away. Just beyond the door, he could see two soldiers shooting at the terrorists. Their backs were turned to him.

  Armaan walked towards the door, debating whether to make a run for it, or to incapacitate the soldiers nearest the door and take their weapons. It would alert the others, but at least they could fight their way out of the area, instead of being defenceless like they were now.

  Just then, Tahir walked through the door, a handgun in his massive palm. “Thinking of going somewhere, my friends?”

  Armaan and Baldev stopped in their tracks.

  “We Pakistanis are known for our hospitability.” Tahir said. “It’s a shame if you are thinking of leaving so quickly. Anyways, I have decided what to do with you spies.”

  “What’s that?” Armaan asked in an even tone.

  Tahir was about to reply when a powerful explosion rocked the barracks. This one was closer; the impact bursting the glass off the windows. Outside Armaan could see a massive hole in the west wall. Smoke was billowing out of the wall. A moment later a horde of terrorists swarmed through the opening in the wall.

  Tahir rushed out screaming at his number two. “Spread out and shoot the terrorists.”

  As Armaan watched, a stream of RPGs exploded outside the barracks. One of them landed just outside the door where the guards to their room had been. As the smoke cleared, he could see their bodies metamorphosed into burnt flesh and dismembered remains. Both the guards were dead.

  Armaan raced outside. The terrorists were only a couple hundred metres away shooting indiscriminately at the remaining soldiers. He saw Tahir lying on the ground; one of his legs had been blown off due to the shrapnel from the grenade. He was crouching behind one of the numerous corpses and was returning fire with manic frenzy.

  “The terrorists have surrounded the barracks from three sides.” Armaan heard Hitesh’s panicked voice.

  Another wave of RPGs rained near the barracks. Armaan hastily ducked inside the door. The terrorists were attacking from the gate at the south and they had breached the wall on the west. Plus, the terrorists on the mountains were pounding the facility with their RPGs. It was a murderous three-way crossfire and they were trapped in the middle. Armaan saw the soldiers outside bravely fighting off the enemies. Numerous terrorists had died at the hands of the soldiers, but they still approached the barracks relentlessly.

  Armaan looked towards the gate. There were less than five guards fighting against some thirty terrorists. In a few minutes the terrorists would overwhelm the guards and gain access to the gate. In front of him, the terrorists that had breached the west wall were spreading out in a wide arc and closing in. They were taking whatever cover they could muster, intending to kill as many as they could before they died.

  Hitesh was right. Armaan and Baldev were trapped. Armaan squirreled his way to the door followed closely by Baldev. He needed to be armed. He took the assault rifles besides the dead guards and handed one to Baldev.

  They had to fight their way out of here.

  “Get in cover!” He heard Hitesh’s voice. Armaan and Baldev didn’t wait. They raced back into the safety of the barracks as another RPG blasted the spot they were at a few seconds ago.

  “Three,” Armaan ordered. “Use the Vidhwansak and blast the terrorists in the mountains who are firing at us.”

  “Roger, that.” Roshan said.

  “Baldev,” Armaan said, “take position against the windows. Our first priority is to push back the terrorists on the west side. Weapons free.”

  “Weapons free it is.” Baldev immediately crouched under cover of one of the windows and started shooting, his rifle on automatic fire.

  Armaan took shelter under one of the windows and peered high up at the mountains where he knew the terrorists were ensconced. He could see sporadic streams of RPGs flying down to the compound.

  But not for long.

  Roshan peered through the Vidhwansak’s scope. He had already highlighted the terrorists hiding on the opposite mountain a few minutes ago, but he had been waiting for Armaan’s permission.

  Now he would go all out.

  The Vidhwansak was side-loaded with a round of 20mm ammo and was ready. The Destroyer. That was the meaning of the Vidhwansak. And the terrorists would soon realize what it meant.

  Roshan selected a group of four terrorists hiding behind a rock, firing RPGs down at the facility and laughing at the devastation they were causing. He held his breath and squeezed the trigger.

  An explosive crack echoed in the plateau they were on. The gun shuddered in Roshan’s hands as it jerked back with a powerful impact that threatened to shatter his shoulder bones. A dull pain spread through Roshan’s shoulder, but he smiled. He was on the safer end of the rifle. He watched through the scope to see how the terrorists on the wrong end of the barrel fared.

  The Vidhwansak’s powerful large calibre rounds were on display. The momentum of the massive palm-sized ammunition was huge. The first shot tore through the boulder as if it was brittle glass. The boulder exploded into a thousand pieces on impact, the pieces acting like shrapnel for the terrorists around it. The terrorists crouching behind the border had no chance to escape, no place left to hide. They were peppered with granite and their mangled insides splattered on the cliff face.

  Roshan could see the other terrorists standing up from their positions wondering where the shot had come from. But at a distance of one thousand five hundred metres, they would have no idea that it came from the mountain opposite to them. Plus the muzzle brake at the end of the Vidhwansak suppressed the flash of the escaping bullet. He swivelled the gun and picked out another target and pulled the trigger again.

  Armaan didn’t hear the shot from the ground but he could see half a dozen terrorists fall around simultaneously, dead. Armaan continued watching as he saw the muted explosions of the rocks high up in the mountains every few seconds. With each blast multiple terrorists around it died. The terrorists were now panicking and trying to search for cover. But Armaan knew. No cover could hide a terrorist against a Vidhwansak. Soon the terrorists were running helter-skelter.

  Armaan smiled grimly. Metal death.

  But the smile didn’t last long. Apparently a leader shouted at the fleeing terrorists. The terrorists stopped. A moment later they regrouped around the leader and trooped rapidly down the mountain.

  Towards him.

  Chapter 37

  “Terrorists at nine o’clock.” Armaan heard Baldev shouting at him.

  He looked at the western wall. The narrow hole had turned into a bottleneck, causing most of the terrorists coming out from the hole to be an easy target to hit. Scores of terrorists with their blood-sodden bodies lay in front of it. He counted around twenty terrorists remaining based on where they were shooting from.

  But it wasn’t just the terrorists among the fallen; he could see an equal number of soldiers dead in front of them. The RPGs had been stopped, but by then it had taken a heavy toll. Armaan continued to fire at the terrorists; the situation was precarious and could go either way.

  “Three,” Armaan said, “you will have a better viewpoint from there. Sho
ot the terrorists outside the gate.”

  “I am already doing that.” Roshan said. “The problem is that there are too many of them.”

  A grenade exploded near the gate. Armaan watched in horror as the few remaining soldiers at the gate were overrun by the horde of terrorists. The soldiers were mercilessly gunned down. An entire contingent of the terrorists swarmed through the gate and raced across the open compound. Some going towards the facility entrance, others towards the barracks. Armaan started shooting at the ones closest to the barracks.

  “The gate has been breached,” Hitesh reported. “They will reach the barracks in no time.”

  “I am trying to snipe off as many as possible,” Roshan said.

  “Me too.” Baldev said. He had shifted from shooting at the terrorists in the west to the larger contingent of terrorists at the gate.

  Armaan watched Tahir in front of him outside the barracks taking shelter behind a pillar. He was surprised that Tahir was still alive with all the shooting and bombing happening around him. Tahir was prone on the ground firing at the terrorists like a maniac.

  Armaan remembered his story. His son had been killed by terrorists. The intensity on his face was full of hatred, yet he aimed and fired with mechanical precision taking down the terrorists a hundred metres away. Two of Tahir’s team members called to him to take cover, but Tahir ignored them, almost in the open with barely enough cover. He was living with a death wish.

  Armaan watched through the windows as the two soldiers rushed out and picked Tahir’s heavy seven foot frame and brought him through the door and laid him down. Tahir didn’t protest, but resumed his firing from behind the door. The two soldiers crouched next to him and continued shooting.

  Lying a few feet away, Armaan watched Tahir’s blood splotched uniform and realized that Tahir was grievously wounded. An ordinary man would have died by now, but not this massive bear of a man. Armaan watched Tahir let off a round of bullets till the click of the empty chamber sounded. He reloaded a fresh magazine clip and smiled weakly at Armaan.