Tri services Special Ops Division sets up headquarters in Bengaluru

New Delhi [India], May 3 : Created with the aim of carrying out joint operations, the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) has set up its headquarters in Bengaluru.

"The Armed Forces Special Operations Division was set up in Agra in its early days under the Integrated Defence Staff and has now shifted to Bengaluru," defence officials said here.

The AFSOD is now under the Department of Military Affairs and includes the officers and men from the Army Parachute Regiment, Marine Commandos from the Navy and Garud commandos from the Indian Air Force.

The AFSOD has been carrying out extensive war games for both internal and external operations and has also been deployed for counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Bengaluru is also well suited for operations for a force like the AFSOD as there are multiple airstrips near their location," the officials said.

The AFSOD was one of the three defence agencies created in 2018-19 as part of the efforts to enhance jointness and integration among the forces.

The tri-services special forces recently carried out war games near the chickens' neck area near the Siliguri corridor and have been regularly practising operations in the Andaman and Nicobar Island territory.

The troops under the division have also held exercises near the Pakistan border in the Kutch area of Gujarat.

The AFSOD has also now started preparing for external exigencies like the one which happened in the 1980s in Maldives.