1st Para-Commando Battalion

Bangladesh Army 1st Para-Commando Battalion (The Cheetahs )
Active 1976 – present
Country Bangladesh
Allegiance Bangladesh
Type Special Operations Force
Role Special Operations
Size Classified
Part of Para-Commando Brigade(Bangladesh Army)
Garrison/HQ Sylhet
Nickname(s) The Cheetahs
Motto(s) Do or Die
Colors Maroon
Equipment Colt M4A1, Type 56, Type 81, Dragunov SVD, Accuracy International Arctic Warfare, M1911, MP5A3
Engagements

[1]

Commanders
Current
commander		 Lieutenant Colonel MM Imrul Hasan
Notable
commanders		 Brigadier General Md. Zahurul Alam

The 1st Para-Commando Battalion (also known as The Cheetahs) is an elite Commando unit in the Bangladesh Army, established in 1976 inspired by the British Special Air Service. Headquartered in Sylhet, its raising commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Md. Zahurul Alam (retired as brigadier general in 2010).[2] Some renowned officers of this unit are (before raising this unit, they were commandos but they were not in any commando unit. But now the commando unit has been raised so that their name has been kept in this unit. They all are war heroes, so it's also an honour for this unit): Late Lieutenant General Ziaur Rahman, Late Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, Late Colonel A.T.M. Haider, Late Colonel Abu Taher, Lieutenant Colonel (Shaheed) Abdus Salam, Lieutenant Colonel Md. Mustafizur Rahman, Colonel Saiful Islam, Late Major M. Anwar Hossain (Hell Commando) etc.

Though the Commando Battalion is headquartered in Sylhet, they are under the authority of the Army Headquarters.[3] More specifically, their orders for mobilisation is mandated by the Chief of the General Staff of the Bangladesh Army. The Commando Battalion constantly remains on standby so that they can be mobilised expeditiously without delay.

Duties

BD Commandos in a joint Special Forces exercise with American Special Forces(Rangers)

Commandos are trained to operate in any kind of missions at home and abroad. Their missions include (but are not limited to):

Some Renowned Former Commanders

Equipments

As 1st paracommando Battalion is the primary special forces of Bangladesh, It is the most advanced special force in Bangladesh. Commandos are trained to operate almost all kinds of firearms including Assault rifles, pistols etc. The unit has variety of weapons in their inventory. The list of the equipments used by 1st paracommando battalion is given below

Operations

Dhaka Holey Artisan Bakery Hostage Crisis

On 1 July 2016, five assailants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery with crude bombs, machetes, ak 22 rifle and pistols, in Dhaka's affluent neighbourhood, Gulshan 2, which is extremely popular among expatriates and foreigners, at roughly 9:20 pm, taking hostage of the locals and foreigners inside.[4] Not realising the gravity of the situation, the initial assault to secure the premises, commenced by Dhaka Metropolitan Police, resulted in the casualties of two police officers in exchanging gun-fire with the assailants.

[5] However, Police and the Rapid Action Battalion acted with celerity in setting up a perimeter around the Bakery to block escape of any assailant.[6] After fruitless hours of seeking to bring a peaceful solution to the problem, when the perpetrators refused to communicate with authorities, the realisation set that alternative measures were required.[6]

At an early morning meeting on Saturday (2 July), the highest level of Government decided to engage the Commando Battalion. They were flown in from Sylhet to carry out a counterassault and free the hostages.[6][7] After gathering intelligence from RAB and the Police forces present on the ground, Commandos initiated their raid (codenamed "Operation Thunderbolt"), which began at 7:40 am and concluded at 8:30 am.[4][7] They were successfully able to free 13 hostages and kill the assailants.[7]

During the attack, 9 Italians, 7 Japanese, 2 Bangladeshis, 1 Indian, and 1 American were killed by the perpetrators.[4][6]

Operation Twilight in Sylhet

"Operation Twilight" (24 – 28 March 2017) was an operation launched by Bangladesh Army Commandos held in sylhet, against militants of a banned terrorist group. Intelligence agencies, found some intel on a hideout of terrorists in 'ATIA MAHAL' in Sylhet having serious firepower and mass explosives including suicide bombers ready to attack. The members of the police and SWATS tried to make a quick end to the operation but due to the tactical complications and lack of situational expertise, the operation was later handed over to 1-Paracommando battalion (The Cheetahs), the elite special forces Unit of Bangladesh army. The commandos then rescued 78 hostages from the building the very day. After the operation Which continued for the next 4 days due to the building being set up with IEDs, the commandos nevertheless finished the operation with zero collateral damage. All the 4 terrorists inside the Building were killed, 2 of them out of 4 were wearing suicide vests (which refrained the possibility of close combat/ assault). The operation finally ended as one of the greatest achievements for the elite special force and the army as all 78 hostages were rescued unharmed, including many small children and a pregnant woman, earning the force international reputation for their successful operation.[8]

References

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