Indo-Bangla defense cooperation: Army training capsule in Patna

An army training capsule on counter-insurgency/ counter-terrorism operations will be conducted in Patna's Danapur Cantonment from November 13 to December 10, as a part of the ongoing Indo-Bangladesh defense cooperation.

This training capsule is one of the major training events and defence cooperation endeavours between the two armies and will be first of its kind being organised for the Bangladesh Army at Danapur Cantonment, an official statement said today.

The training event will be attended by five officers and 25 other ranks of the Bangladesh Army.

Both countries are facing similar threats relating to insurgency and terrorism including certain groups operating in both countries.

The operating principles and tactics of both countries while dealing with insurgency/ terrorism related incidents are also similar. The training will mostly aim at skilling the Bangladesh Army personnel on handling counter-insurgency / counter-terrorism operations in hostile environment drawn from decades of experience of the Indian Army.

The Indian Army training team will be headed by Colonel D.D. Swain, an experienced counter-insurgency / counter-terrorism operations expert having commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and operated in insurgency affected areas of Assam and Manipur for a number of years.

During the training capsule, state-of-the art weapons and equipment for close-quarter battle, surveillance and tracking, explosives, IED detectors and communication equipment will be fielded.

The Bangladesh team will train, plan and execute a series of well-developed operations for neutralisation of threats of the above mentioned nature.

This training capsule is being conducted as one of the initiatives to strengthen Indo-Bangladesh ties and will be mutually beneficial for developing common operating procedures for eventuality in future as threats and inimical groups in both countries are similar.