11-Feb-2023: Exercise Tarkash underway

Exercise TARKASH is conducted by National Security Guard (NSG) and US Special Operations Forces (SOF) in Chennai. First time it includes Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) terror response.

Objective: Neutralize terrorists, rescue hostages, and deactivate chemical weapons.

CBRN weapons are classified as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). States and terror elements have used CBRN weapons in the past. Most recent use of CBRN in the form of a sarin gas attack was witnessed in Syria in 2017.

UN recognizes the threat of non-state actors gaining access to and using WMDs or CBRNs to international peace and security.