SURGICAL STRIKE

All eight teams of the deadly warriors reach their targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir without detection and annihilate them with a sudden thunder of explosions, smoke bombs and gunfire.

Up in the skies and beyond the range of enemy radars, 30 Indian commandos armed with Kalashnikovs, Tavors, rocket-propelled guns and thermobaric weapons deploy parachutes on a dark, cold moonless night for a rare military insertion to ambush terror assets on the rugged Himalayan terrain of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

No audio devices on the ground are able to pick any sound either as they plummet down from a freezing height of 35,000 feet.

Simultaneously, seven other crews of the Indian army's dauntless Special Forces walk, crawl and slither through Pakistani barricades across the Line of Control.

All eight teams of the deadly warriors reach their targets without detection and annihilate them with a sudden thunder of explosions, smoke bombs and gunfire. Highly-placed military sources have exclusively shared with India Today TV the lowdown of the covert surgical strikes of September 28, from their planning to meticulous execution.

Here's the timeline of the entire inside story that began in Uri on September 18 and culminated in the destruction of terror infrastructure across the LoC 10 days later.

THE PROVOCATION BEHIND THE ARMY OPERATION

TERRORISTS ATTACK URI CAMP (September 18)

On September 18, a Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeen group attacked the administrative station of the Indian Army's 12 Brigade, killing 19 soldiers. Data on GPS sets seized from the slain terrorists suggested Pakistan links

Two local guides captured after the Uri raid also revealed how the Pakistani army helped the fidayeen sneak into India. A wave of unyielding anger soon gripped the nation

INDIA SUMMONS PAK ENVOY (September 21)

Three days later, India's foreign secretary S. Jaishankar summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit and shared evidence of Pakistani involvement in the Uri attack, which Islamabad rejected

SHARIF PROVOKES INDIA AT UNGA (September 22)

On September 22, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif delivered a provocative speech at the UN General Assembly, hailing Hizbul commander Burhan Wani

In Delhi, Indian decision-makers geared up to respond to Pakistan. Army chief General Dalbir Singh and Director General of Military Operations Lt-Gen Ranbir Singh briefed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval on the range of military options. Pakistan sensed trouble after Indian media ran reports. Islamabad activated its radar systems along the LoC and the International Boundary. It deployed the Swedish Saab 2000, an early airborne-warning and control aircraft

MODI TAKES WAR-ROOM BRIEFING (September 23)

On the night of September 23, Narendra Modi visited the Army's top-secret war room at Raisina Hill's South Block. The three service chiefs briefed him and the NSA about India's next course of action

ISRO's earth-observation satellites were re-calibrated to zoom their cameras on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

R&AW deployed its human assets closest to the eight demarcated launch pads in PoK

Inside Pakistan, R&AW activated its assets in Rawalpindi and Islamabad

MOBILISING SPECIAL FORCES (September 26)

On September 26, NSA Doval held a key meeting with the three service chiefs and intelligence heads. Operational details are finalised for eight synchronised raids along a 250 km arc

The plan was drawn for Indian forces to infiltrate terrain held by three divisions of the Pakistani army

Soon, Mi-17 transport helicopters started ferrying commandos and their equipment to forward areas along the Line of Control

Northern Army Commander Lt-Gen DS Hooda tasked the 6 Bihar and 10 Dogra battalions, which suffered casualties in the Uri attack, to deploy their Ghatak commandos

SURGICAL STRIKES (September 26)

On the moonless  night, Operation Surgical Strikes took off after the midnight hour

Across the LoC, Indian Army's elite commando teams slipped through the barricades

In swift attacks, snipers with silencers silenced sentries at terror camps

They stormed the camps

THE EXTRICATION

One commando stepped on a land-mine during exit and injured himself. There was no other Indian casualty. The paras also take images on their still cameras

The objective of the Indian army, the source added, was successfully achieved. By 9 am, all commandos were back to their base

The enemy was deceived. Pakistan's army had no clue what hit them

A Cabinet Committee on Security was called to review the outcome of the operation

THE DECEPTION

At 2.30 am, Indian artillery units opened a diversionary fire to confuse Pakistani defence forces, pounding enemy posts. Pakistan retaliated heavily. In the loud noise and confusion along the LoC, Indian commandos started slipping back, unchallenged

Enemy troops scurried to their bunkers, leaving the terrain clear for the Special Forces teams to return to the Indian side