Inside India's 2016 surgical strikes: Planning, precision, deterrence

The strikes came 11 days after the 18 September 2016 Uri attack, in which four militants stormed an Army base, killing 19 soldiers. The scale of the losses shocked the nation and demanded a forceful response.

- COLONEL DANVIR SINGH (RETD) NEW DELHI

On 29 September 2016, India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, made a rare and consequential announcement: the Indian Army had conducted "surgical strikes" against terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) the previous night.

Multiple camps were destroyed, significant terrorist casualties inflicted, and-critically-no Indian soldiers were lost. The operation demonstrated not only the Army's operational finesse but also a decisive doctrinal shift in India's counter-terrorism approach.

FROM URI TO AUTHORISATION

The strikes came 11 days after the 18 September 2016 Uri attack, in which four militants stormed an Army base, killing 19 soldiers. The scale of the losses shocked the nation and demanded a forceful response.

The Cabinet Committee on Security reviewed intelligence pointing to imminent infiltration attempts from launch pads just across the LoC. Publicly, the Army promised action "at a time and place of our choosing." Privately, detailed planning began, blending intelligence inputs with operational options.

WHERE AND WHAT WAS HIT

Open-source reporting soon indicated that seven launch pads located between 500 metres and three kilometres across the LoC were struck. Sectors named in Pakistani accounts included Bhimber, Hot Spring, Kel, and Lipaall known infiltration corridors.

While Pakistan officially denied any "surgical strikes," it acknowledged that two of its soldiers were killed in firing along the LoC. Indian sources emphasised that only terrorist launch pads were targeted, with no civilian casualties.

METHOD AND EXECUTION