operations and assignments, due to their classified nature. Garuds have been deployed to Congo as a part of the UN peacekeeping contingent. They also operate alongside special forces of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir to gain operational exposure. Towards this purpose, teams from the flights are attached to Army SF units. The Garuds are now active in the region of Jammu and Kashmir carrying out counter insurgency operations and neutralising terrorists in the region. Garud commandos were tasked to provide security at the Yelahanka AFS during Aero India-2005, 2007, 2011 and 2013. 2013 Chhattisgarh helicopter shootdown On January 18, 2013, an IAF helicopter, with two Garud commandos as part of the security crew, while on a casualty evacuation sortie, was hit by 15 bullets fired by Naxalites and crashed in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh. A police radio operator, Yamlal Sahu, was wounded with bullets piercing his intestines. 2016 Pathankot attack On 2nd January 2016, during the 2016 Pathankot attack, a Garud team engaged the intruding terrorists in a firefight, during which Commando Gursewak Singh was martyred. All the IAF assets were declared safe. Jammu and Kashmir Garud commandos are actively deployed in the Lolab Valley and the Hajin area of Jammu and Kashmir to conduct counter-insurgency operations. They have undertaken operations against armed militants from groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba. These operations have included tasks such as direct encounters and intelligence gathering. The following are some of the known operations conducted by Garud commandos: Operation Rakh Hajin: This was an operation conducted by Garud commandos in which six militants were killed in the Kashmir Valley. The Ashok Chakra was posthumously awarded to Corporal J.P. Nirala for the same. In July 2018, two Garud commandos and two militants were killed during an intense encounter at Hajin, Bandipora. According to military authorities, the Garud commandos were operating alongside the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the J&K Police, and the Indian Army. AFSOD deployments In November 2019, Garuds started operating as a part of the first deployment of the Armed Forces Special Operations Division in Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh Soon after the beginning of the 2020 China–India tensions, Garud commandos were deployed near mountain peaks considered by India to have strategic value. Their role was to defend the Indian airspace against Chinese aircraft for which they employed 9K38 Igla air defence systems. Gallantry awards Ashok Chakra Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, AC (Posthumous) of