the enemy for 24 hours and picked up all their dead with their weapons after reinforcements arrived the next morning. After the failed assault on Jaffna City, the 10 Para (SF) participated in a heli-borne assault on the town of Moolai to the north west in November 1987. More than 200 LTTE guerrillas were killed and an arms depot seized. In order to give the commandos battle experience, 1 Para (SF) was rotated home in early 1988 and replaced by 9 Para (SF). This battalion was scheduled to return home in June 1988, but the tour of duty was extended due to a planned air assault into the coastal swamps around Mullaittivu. The mission was a success, in that it located several arms caches. The 9 Para (SF) also provided 12 men for the security of the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka. Operation Cactus 1988, Maldives With the capture of Maldives, an island nation off the south western coast of India, on 3 November 1988 by the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) mercenaries, the army turned to the 50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade to carry out an airborne/air attempt transported operation to liberate the country and return power to the legal government. This operation had 6 Para spearheading the mission. 6 Para flew in on 4 November 1988 in a fleet of IL-76, An-32 and An-12 transport aircraft. One team rescued the president, another took over the airfield, and a third rescued Maldivian security personnel besieged in the National Security Service HQ. Later 7 Para and part of 17 Para Field Regiment were also deployed to the Maldives. When mercenaries tried to escape by sea along with hostages, they were intercepted by the Indian Navy. Thus, 6 Para, and the 17 Para Field Regiment conducted the first-ever international intervention by the Indian Army without any loss of life. 1999 Kargil War In 1999 nine out of ten Parachute battalions were deployed for Operation Vijay in Kargil, which bears testimony to the operational profile of the Regiment. While the Parachute Brigade cleared the Mushkoh Valley intrusions, 5 Para was actively involved in the forgotten sector of Batalik, and was awarded the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Unit Citation and Theatre Honour Kargil for its resounding success against the Pakistani Army Operation Khukri 2000, Sierra Leone Operation Khukri was a rescue mission conducted by the 2 PARA (SF) in Sierra