Naxal attack: Commandos walked into a death trap of 300 IEDs

India

oi-Vicky

Patna, July 20: The Naxal attack on the commandos belonging to the CRPF's elite COBRA force came as a huge surprise to them. It was the commandos who launched the operation, but due to a tough terrain and bad weather they were unable to assess the gravity of the situation and walked straight into a trap of landmines which had 300 IEDs planted.

The commandos on a specific tip off proceeded towards the Aurangabad forests in Bihar. While it was the commandos who gunned down the three naxals first, the second half of the operation became problematic for them. In retaliation, 10 commandos were killed by naxals.

Also read: Security forces taken by surprise by Naxals in Bihar

Naxals rigged the terrain with IEDs

The naxalites had been looking to strike back for nearly an year now. In the year 2015, a record 527 naxalites had been arrested. In the same year the Home Ministry had stated in a report that the lowest naxal violence had been reported. The naxals were completely on guard and had anticipated such a strike by the security forces.

One officer tells OneIndia that the terrain was nothing but a death trap. "The 500 metre area leading up to the naxal camp was rigged with 300 IEDs. The naxals were in a better position when compared the security forces despite losing 3 of their men first," he said.

The naxals immediately moved the bodies and also managed to rescue those injured. However, for the security forces the death trap, bad weather and tricky terrain proved fatal and they ended up losing 10 of their men.

Some officers feel that the security forces were unable to move the injured persons to a safe place and this further hampered their operations. Investigations are being conducted into the incident and also the possible lapses.

OneIndia News