The Indo-Tibetan Border Police rushed its special dog squad — K9 — last week to sanitise routes during the Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir following instruction from the Union home ministry.

“Following intelligence intercepts that some terror groups are planning to target security forces and pilgrims, the home ministry sent additional forces of the paramilitary forces along with the specialised K9 dog squad,” a home ministry official said.

The K9 squad of the ITBP had also been brought in from the ITBP’s training centre in Chandigarh in 2015 to secure the routes of former US President Barack Obama during his visit to Delhi to take part in the Republic Day celebration.

An ITBP official said the K9 dog squad deployed during the ongoing yatra have been equipped with bullet-proof vests to protect them from long-range snipers of terror outfits.

The ITBP’s dog training centre in Chandigarh has been nominated as the centre of excellence in this domain. A few years ago, the paramilitary had introduced the first-ever infantry patrol dog breed “Malinois” in the country on the lines of similar units raised by the US Navy Seals commandos and Nato forces.

The K9 squad comprises German Shepherds, Labradors and Belgian Malinois.

The Amarnath Yatra began on July 1 and will end on August 15.