13 locals, 8 Pakistani militants among the slain

Anantnag: In the eleven gunfights that have taken place in Kashmir in less than a fortnight, 21 militants and a policeman have been killed – making this the bloodiest period in the restive Kashmir valley this year, thus far.

There has been a serious spiralling of violence in Kashmir this year, with the killing of more than 90 militants and 22 other people in targeted killings.

The 22 people killed in targeted attacks this year included a Kashmiri Pandit employee of the Revenue Department, a Rajasthani Bank Manager, a Rajput man, four policemen, four members of Panchayat, three non-locals, three locals, one army man, two CRPF personnel, and two members of the Railway Protection Force.

The recent spike in violence started with a gunfight in the Baramulla district of North Kashmir, on May 25, wherein three Pakistani nationals of Jaish-e-Muhammad and a policeman were killed.

Since then, another 17 militants have been killed in ten gunfights in the valley.

“If we look at the data this year, this is probably the period where most of the gunfights have taken place, with the maximum number of casualties, given the fact that other 70 militants have been killed over a five-month period,” a senior police official told Kashmir Reader, requesting not to be named.

Most of the slain militants during this period have been locals –thirteen of them, to be precise. “Eight of the slain were Pakistani nationals,” the official said, adding, “Most of the local militants had joined the ranks recently.”

Interestingly, the old perception that the militancy was confined to the south of Kashmir has been changing with these gunfights. Four of the eleven gunfights have taken place in the north Kashmir region, six in the south of Kashmir, and one in Srinagar district in central Kashmir.

“Casualty wise, south and north regions are neck to neck. Ten militants have been killed in the six gunfights in south Kashmir, while nine have been killed in the four that took place in the north,” the police official said, adding that two militants were killed in the lone gunfight in Srinagar district.

Lashkar-e-Toiba has suffered most of the casualties in these last fourteen days or so. Ten of the slain militants belong to LeT, seven to the Jaish-e-Muhammad, and only four were associated with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

Following all these gunfights, the police have been maintaining that most of the cases pertaining to targeted killings have been solved.

Meanwhile, LG Manoj Sinha has said that militancy is on its last leg in the Kashmir valley. “When a lamp is about to go off, it flickers more. Some elements from across the border are trying to disturb the peace here but they won’t succeed. Militancy is on its last leg now,” Sinha told reporters in Srinagar on Monday.

Timeline:

May 25: Three Pakistani JeM militants, one policeman killed in Kreeri gunfight

May 26: Three Pakistani LeT militants killed in Kupwara gunfight

May 27: Two local LeT militants killed in gunfight in Awantipora

May 27: Two local LeT militants killed in Soura gunfight

May 28: Two local militants of Hizb killed in Dachnipora area of Anantnag

May 30: Two local militants of JeM killed in gunfight in Pulwama

May 31: Two local militants, one of LeT and another of JeM, killed in Awantipora

June 4: Hizb commander killed in Dooru area of Anantnag

June 6: Pakistani Jaish militant killed in Zaloora of Sopore

June 7: Two militants, one Pakistani and one local, killed in Kupwara district

June 7: BVSc student-turned-militant of Hizb killed in Shopian district

Suhail A Shah