Commonwealth Champion Shooter Subedar Major Fateh Singh Died Protecting The Pathankot Airbase In Yesterday's Attack

Heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists yesterday attempted to storm the Air Force base in Pathankot, triggering a day-long gun battle in which three security-men and all the five infiltrators were killed.In heavy exchange of fire, a commando and two other personnel of the IAF were killed along with all the five attackers.

At least, six security men were also injured.Security personnel, which included commandos from NSG, Army and Air Force, appeared to be preparing for an extended operation as the night fell and resistance continued. One of them was former shooter and mentor Subedar Major Fateh Singh, who was martyred in his struggle to defend India.

A big bore shooter (300m), Singh had won gold and silver in 1st Commonwealth Shooting Championships in New Delhi in 1995. Singh, who was part of Army's Marksmanship Unit in Mhow for many years, joined the Defense Security Corps (DSC) after retiring from the Army. Till last year, Singh was posted in Mhow under Dogra Regiment and was transferred to Pathankot later.

Gurdaspur (Punjab): Family members mourn death of IAF jawan Fateh Singh who lost his life in #Pathankot attack. pic.twitter.com/MjVzWZPa7E

¡ª ANI (@ANI_news) January 3, 2016

"He was a very good shooter and was active in the sport till recently . He also used to train young shooters at the AMU whenever he got time," AMU commanding officer Colonel Lalit Sharma told the Times of India. "He was a talented shooter and it is sad to hear about the news though we have not got any official statement yet," Sharma said. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh condoled the death of Singh.

This was just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi¡¯s surprise stopover in Lahore.

With the intention of destroying fighter jets and attack helicopters housed here, the group of terrorists in army fatigues attempted to storm the base, 35 kms from the international border with Pakistan but failed to go beyond the outer periphery.

¡°I congratulate our armed forces and other security forces on successfully neutralising all the five terrorists in ¡¯Pathankot Operation¡¯,¡± Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted after about 16¡ªhour¡ªlong operation. Home Ministry sources said Singh tweeted after receipt of information that the operation was over.

We have also lost security personnel in Pathankot attack. My heartfelt condolences to their families.We can never forget their sacrifice.

¡ª Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) January 2, 2016

The Prime Minister, who had taken a big political risk by going to Lahore, said in Mysuru that the attack was carried out by ¡°enemies of humanity who can¡¯t see India progress¡°.

Enemies of humanity who can't see India progress attacked Pathankot: PM Narendra Modi #PathankotTerrorAttack https://t.co/NCTSz0OePe

¡ª TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 2, 2016

He expressed pride in the security forces, saying they did not let the terrorists succeed.

The attackers were believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan and there was speculation that they may belong to Jaish¡ªe¡ªMohammad headed by Maulana Masood Azhar of the Kandahar hijack episode.

The nation is proud of its brave security forces who have always rose to the occasion. I salute our forces on successful operation in P'kot

¡ª Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) January 2, 2016

The terrorists, who are said to have infiltrated three days ago, launched the first ever attack on an Indian Air base at around 3.30 am, their obvious targets being MiG¡ª21 fighter aircraft and MI¡ª25 attack helicopters.

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Rajnath Singh did not rule out the possibility of involvement of Pakistan¡ªbased JeM terror outfit in the attack. ¡°The case will be probed by the NIA but the possibility of JeM being behind the attack cannot be ruled out,¡± he said. In the wake of the attack, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cut short his stay in Goa and returned to Delhi where he held a high level meeting which was attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and three Service chiefs.

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¡°Through timely and prompt action by all agencies, the likely plan of the terrorists to destroy valuable assets of the Air Force has been foiled,¡± IAF said in a statement after the meeting. The terrorists could not go beyond the ¡®langar¡¯ (eating place) near the outer perimeter of the IAF complex as the security forces were ready to take them on, officials said about the operation which was supervised directly by Doval.