Over 100 Militants Killed in Kashmir in Less Than 6 Months in 2022

Srinagar: The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir claimed to have killed 102 militants, including 30 foreigners, in less than six months this year, with as many as seven militants killed in the last four days, officials said.

In the Bemina area, two militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed last night. The police said that they prevented an attack on the upcoming Amarnath Yatra by killing the militants. The police identified the slain militants as Adil Hussain Mir of Pahalgam area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district and Abdullah Goujri, a resident of Pakistan’s Faisalabad.

Adil had travelled to Pakistan in 2018 and had infiltrated back recently to carry out militant action in the region. A policeman was also injured in the encounter. However, his condition is said to be stable.

“This was the same group of terrorists who escaped from the Sopore encounter. We have been tracking their movement,” Inspector of General Police Kashmir (IGP) Vijay Kumar later said.

The authorities have increased security vigil and counter-insurgency operations in the region amidst rising concerns about the upcoming Amarnath Yatra. In June, around a dozen militants have been killed so far in eight encounters across the region, including in Srinagar and North Kashmir.

Last night it was the second encounter reported in the summer capital of Srinagar in which police said they killed top LeT militants in brief encounters. Earlier, on Sunday, another militant identified as Adil Parray, a resident of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal, was killed at Kreesbal locality of Palpora, outside Srinagar.

According to the police, Adil was involved in killing two Jammu and Kashmir police personnel, Gh Hassan Dar in Sangam and Saifulla Qadri from Anchar, Soura.

The killings were reported closely after three militants, identified as Junaid Shergojri, Fazil Nazir Bhat and Irfan Ahmad Malik were killed in Pulwama district on Saturday.

Of the 102 militants, 72 were locals and 30 were foreigners; they were killed in different encounters in less than six months. This is twice the number of militants killed last year in the same duration. In 2021, 50 militants, including 49 locals and only one foreigner were killed in the first six months.

The police said that the majority of those killed so far this year belonged to LeT, whose 63 militants were killed. The forces have also killed 24 militants from the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit. Over 30 militants who died this year so far were fresh recruits and were killed within the first three months of joining the militant ranks.

The heightened military operations in the region are seen as a measure to tackle the growing security concerns in the wake of a fresh spate of violence in which militant outfits are carrying out targeted killings against civilians and police personnel.

As many as 19 civilians have been killed in targeted attacks by suspected militants, including five non-local and a Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat, whose killing triggered a fresh wave of fear amongst the minority community working in the Kashmir Valley. Since the killing of Bhat on May 12, the community, mostly comprising employees recruited under the special Prime Minister's package for relief and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, has launched a protest demanding relocation outside the valley.