What is a surgical strike?

A surgical strike is a military attack which results in, was intended to result
in, or is claimed to have resulted in only damage to the intended single or mult
iple legitimate military targets, and no or minimal collateral damage to the sur
rounding civilian or even the unintended militarised structures, vehicles, build
ings, or the general public infrastructure and utilities.[1]
A swift and targeted attack with the aim of no or minimum collateral damage to t
he nearby areas and civilians is a surgical strike. Neutralization of targets wi
th surgical strikes also prevents escalation to a full blown war.
The relevance of the military parlance surgical strike does not alter with the v
arious operational methods employed, namely airstrike or ground operations but r
ather depends on the end result i.e. how accurately, efficiently and swiftly the
intended target(s) have been eliminated or destroyed and on whether the uninten
ded collateral damages have been minimised. The word surgical itself signifies t
he efficiency with which a medical surgeon conducts amputations only on the targ
eted operable parts without harming other functioning limbs of an amputee. Vario
us means can be employed to execute surgical strike attacks as following:
Air strike: Air strikes against protected or camouflaged target(s) near the host
ile militarised zones and/or targets deep inside the hostile hinterland behind h
ostile defence lines, using low observable aerial platforms or air launched crui
se missiles or aerial stand-off weapons or precision munitions or armed drones.
Such airstrikes may also be carried out simultaneously with saturated suppressio
n of the hostile air defence. Conventional airstrikes using legacy platforms are
carried out if the hostile air defence has been already incapacitated or is too
antiquated to effectively detect and intercept. Alternatively land based tactic
al/ theater/ battlefield guided ballistic missiles and cruise missiles which vio
late hostile airspace, can also be employed to eliminate targets inside hostile
territory. Surgical strike using airstrikes and employing guided missiles is an
expensive option (unless by systematic use of armed drones) considering the targ
et value and is construed as going up the escalatory ladder.
Precision bombing is an example of a surgical strike carried out by aircraft
it
can be contrasted against carpet bombing, the latter which results in high colla
teral damage and a wide range of destruction over an affected area which may or
may not include high civilian casualties. The bombing of Baghdad during the init
ial stages of the 2003 Iraq War by US forces, known as Shock and Awe is an examp
le of a coordinated surgical strike, where government buildings and military tar
gets were systematically attacked by US aircraft in an attempt to cripple the Ba
'athist controlled Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein.
Numerous Drone strikes in Pakistan carried out by Central Intelligence Agency 's
Special Activities Division are prime examples of surgical air strikes using Un
manned Aerial Vehicles.
Airdropping: Airdropping and/or evacuating special ops teams into and from hosti
le territory usually using rotary winged aircrafts, and often low-observable aer
ial platforms or using terrain masking tactics especially if the hostile territo
ry is covered by substantial air defence capabilities are be carried out. someti
mes airdropping of special ops teams on a strategical vantage point near the tar
get without technically crossing into the hostile airspace so as to avoid retali
atory hostile strike against the aerial platform, if any and to maintain tactica
l surprise is carried out.
The most prominent surgical strike till date which also employed helicopter drop
and ex-filtration of special forces is Op Geronimo. The US special forces elimi
nated dreaded international terrorist Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, near milita
ry Garrison town of Rawalpindi, Pakistan.[2]

Ground operation using special forces: A swift ground operation can be carried o
ut especially if the terrain of the target is geographically contiguous, using p
rofessionally trained special forces capable of covertly infiltrating through mi
litarised zones like minefields, secured fences and/or both military and natural
barriers under surveillance into the territory militarily controlled by hostile
forces bypassing heavily guarded posts and unleash heavy offensive surprise fir
e against protected and/or camouflaged targets near/inside or behind hostile mil
itary defence line(s)/agglomeration before retreating for ex-filtration. There m
ay be supportive small arms and tactical light artillery fire from behind to dis
tract and keep hostile defence occupied to help the special forces. Such ground
operations are risk-averse in terms of value of platforms deployed and may help
in keeping any military conflict that may break out in the immediate aftermath,
localised, containing further escalation.
The example of a surgical strike using special forces in ground operation is Op
Black Thorn. Royal Marines from Arbroath-based 45 commando, known as Scots, carr
ied out a surgical strike on the Taliban's insurgency stronghold, bombmaking fac
tory, and launch pad for hundreds of attacks on troops and civilians in Zaboraba
d, infamous as the taliban militants' "Heart of Darkness" near Nad-e Ali in Helm
and during Op Black Thorn.[3]
Naval strike using marine special operation forces: For the same purpose, specia
l troops can be sent across sea and riverine routes using tactical naval vessels
.
Or by a combination of all these means.
Choice of the legitimate military targets for surgical strikes are generally bas
ed on prior information collected from various sources by means of intelligence/
counterintelligence, surveillance using both ground based and aerial observation
systems, sometimes including satellite imageries.
Although from the detailed planning till the actual strike, the very nature of a
surgical strike is apparently kept covert as a closely guarded secret, the clai
m of success or carrying out of a surgical strike is often officially announced
immediately after or later, and information pertaining to the event made public
is often limited, discretionary and selective in nature in keeping with the stra
tegic interest of the state in the context. Information regarding a surgical str
ike is not necessarily evidential since the sovereign state concerned which anno
unces its claims of carrying out surgical strike within its rights of self defen
ce against the threats which it considers legitimate military target is not lega
lly bound to make any so-called supportive information public as proof of its cl
aims.
There can be multiple and diametrically opposite versions of a claimed/actual su
rgical strike regarding its objectives/operational methods/ claimed success/ lim
ited success/ claimed failure/ push back/counter strike/ alleged illegitimate na
ture as an act of aggression against the sovereignty/ accusations of using dispr
oportional force amounting to inflated collateral damages/ claims of hiding casu
alties inflicted on the striking special forces/outright denial/ or even disputi
ng the absolute relevance in the strictest sense of using the terminology surgic
al strike as such in the public domain and media as are often vociferously propa
gated by belligerent states in keeping with their respective and antagonistic st
rategic interests, which shape public perceptions in their respective constituen
cies.