SWAT: Delhi Police's 'special force' which excels in urban warfare operations

The Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) team comprises of Delhi Police's elite commandos who specialise in assault roles to counter terrorism.

Foundation and History:

When terrorists attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008, the NSG commandos deployment in action got lagged by first 12 hours due to logistical issues. This was seen as some-kind of a security lapse in dealing with such attacks heads on.

With a view to augment the NSG to counter such terror attacks in major cities of the country, there was a proposal to have special forces aligned or under operational control of State Police forces.

The Delhi police were the first to set up a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team as part of their renewed counter-terror measures. Delhi Police's own SWAT (special weapons and tactics) commandos are a highly trained and well equipped team.

The unit, formed before the Commonwealth Games, is specially trained to combat urban crises in the capital as its training and combat skills are city-centric.

Training:

When the SWAT team was founded in 2010, it received training from NSG and former Army commandos, but now, after training at Delhi Police Training School in Jharoda Kalan (southwest Delhi), they learn advanced skills from Israel's counter-terror and intelligence unit, Mossad. 

The SWAT training ranges from climbing multi-story buildings within seconds to rescuing hostages from a room located in the core of a hotel or a transport mode, bus or Metro.

The training includes advanced hand-to-hand combat moves from Krav Maga, a martial art developed by the Israeli army. The commandos also learn warfare techniques, such as identifying and defusing improvised explosive devices.

The unit has taken a leaf out of the combat tactics of the elite US Navy Seals (those who took out Osama bin Laden) who live by their operational credo fire two bullets to the head called a double tap. Delhi commandos are taught to finish each target with just one bullet. "Their motto is - one shot, one kill.

Weaponry:

Each commando is armed with an AK 47 assault rifle or MP5 submachine gun with at least four 30-round magazines, a Glock 17 or Glock 26 pistol, hand grenades, a wireless set, a 20-metre nylon rope, a pencil torch, a bulletproof helmet (patka for Sikhs), bulletproof jacket, flame torch, cutter and a commando dagger. Special knee and elbow pads are also worn for protection during stealth attacks.

With a force like Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) team in its ranks, Delhi Police is ever ready to combat any kind of terror attacks on the national capital territory.