Srinagar: The majority of active militants in Kashmir valley are affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, followed by 41 in Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), police officials said.
A senior police official said there are a total of 168 militants in Kashmir of which 87 are in south, 65 in north, and 16 in central Kashmir.
“Out of total 168 militants, 82 active militants belong to LeT, followed by 41 with JeM, 38 with Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), 04 with The Resistance Front (TRF), and 3 are affiliated with Al-Badr militant group,” he said.
Apart from active militants, that there are around 25 hybrid militants active in Valley, who are conducting their operations anonymously.
The official said militants active in south Kashmir include 64 locals and 23 foreign militants, 65 ultras active in north Kashmir including 53 foreigners and 12 locals. Similarly, in Central Kashmir, the active militants include 9 locals and 7 foreign militants, official said.
Around 182 militants, 43 security men, and 34 civilians were killed in militancy violence in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021.
While 134 youth joined militancy this year, 168 militants are now active in the Valley, which is the lowest in the last three decades of militancy in the region.
Last week, DGP Dilbagh Singh said 182 militants of different outfits were killed in 100 operations in the UT in the year 2021. Of the slain militants, 171 (152 locals and 19 foreigners) were killed in Kashmir. Of them 44 were top commanders, he said.
Singh said 134 locals joined militancy in 2021. Of them, 128 youth joined militant ranks in Kashmir while six in the Jammu region.
“The highest number of recruitment has taken place in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, where 33 youth joined militancy. LeT, TRF has witnessed maximum recruitment with 75 militants joining the outfit,” he said.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar recently said ‘hybrid’ militancy and neutralizing foreigners will be priority challenges for security agencies in 2022.
“After analysis, it was observed that young boys aged 17 years carry out attacks on policemen and security forces. These boys haven’t been categorized anywhere nor do we have their photographs in police stations,” he said.
“We have made a list of 25 hybrid militants who aren’t categorized,” the IGP said and added the second major challenge next year will be to prevent policemen from becoming soft targets.
Kumar said the neutralization of the remaining 83 foreign militants will be the topmost priority of police. “19 FTs were killed in 2021 and remaining 83 foreign militants will be killed next year,” he said.
He said there are 2 local militants active in city and they are accompanied by the same number of foreign militants. (Agencies)
