The UnTold Facts about Mumbai Attack 26/11 - Part 4

Operation Black Tornado:

• As the specialists in counter attack NSG commandos took charge to flush out the attackers from the hotels.The operation was named as "Operation Back Tornado".Two squads of Special Action Group(SAG)named as SAG-51 and SAG-52 were orered to perform this operation and the snipers were located nearby places to give support to SAG troop.Totally 200 SAG commandos were operated inside the Taj Commandos planned to execute 'Top-Down' operation.

• The difficulties involved in this operation is that the Taj had 21 floors and each having 17 rooms.Limited hotel staff were available to help the commandos because the commandos had no knowledge of various small rooms in the corridors which could be used as hiding places.Also,Lack of ambient light inside the rooms withered the counter-attack.The occupants were too scared and never identified themselves or opened the doors upon knocking or calling.Some occupants ventured out of their rooms earlier and were shot by the terrorists.The word of this incident had spread quickly and the hotel staff had advised the guests to shut themselves inside their rooms.

• In nariman house,two more attackers held the foreigners as hostages.On 27th morning,NSG commandos cleared the first floor of the house and on the following day,the commandos fast-roped from a helicopter on the roof of the house and hurried into the second floor.After a long battle one NSG commando Havaldar Gajender Singh Bisht who led their team was killed along with 4 hostages.The attackers also were killed by the commandos.

• Operation Black Tornado was spear-headed by Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan.Attackers periodically used the explosives to distract the commandos.Major Sandeep was the team commander of 51 SAG deployed in the operation at the Taj Mahal Hotel to rid the building of terrorists and resue the hostages.He Entered the hotel with a group of 10 commandos and reached the sixth floor through the staircase.As the team descended the stairs,they sensed the terrorists on the third floor.The terrorists had held a few women as hostages in a room and locked it from inside.After breaking open the door,the round of fire by the terrorists hit commando Sunil Yadav,who was Major Sandeep's partner.

• Major  Sandeep led his team from the front and engaged the terrorists in a fierce gunfight.He arranged for commando Sunil Yadav's evacuation and regardless of personal safety,chased the terrorists who,meanwhile,escaped to another floor of the hotel,and while doing so Major Sandeep continuously engaged them.In the encounter that followed,he was shot from the back,seriously injured and succumbed to injuries.Finally the commandos killed the remaining two terrorists in Taj and also rescued the hostages from the hotel safely.Simultaneously,NSG commandos killed the two attackers in Nariman House.Finally the NSG commandos successfully completed the "Operation Black Tornado" at 08:00 IST on November 29th.

• The NSG rescued 250 people from the oberoi,300 from the Taj and 60 people(members of 12 different families)from Nariman House.Totally the cruel attack took away the lives of 166 people.Among them,37 persons were foreigners,14 policemen including 3 senior police officers,a major belonging to Elite Special Action Group and a commando of NSG.

{Continued in Part -5 }