Local militant count drops to 10 in Valley with killing of 5 in Kulgam

With the killing of five militants in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, the number of categorised local militants in Valley has come down to 10 — the lowest ever figure, officials told The Tribune. The number of foreign militants, however, is around 45.

According to figures, the number of local militants now stood at 10 in Valley after the encounter in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Thursday.

As per sources, nine local militants are active in south Kashmir’s police districts — two in Awantipora, one in Kulgam, four in Shopian, two in Pulwama — and one in north Kashmir’s Sopore.

The number of local militants has been continuously on the decline over the last few years. Police officials also attribute it to the change in the tactics employed by militant groups. Unlike the previous years when they would post their pictures on social media, the militants have now worn the cloak of anonymity. The police have given such people the name, “hybrid militants”, and what makes them dangerous is that officials have no record of them.

“Even though we have been successful in eliminating a large number of terrorists, at the same time, the new trend of ‘hybrid terrorists’ has increased. The hybrid mode is more challenging because now, we don’t know who the enemy is,” said a Valley-based counter-insurgency officer.

An official said it could be a new tactic of the militant groups to keep the number of local militants low in Valley, given the fact that security forces had taken massive action against those supporting the terror ecosystem here.

“Given the present scenario, wherein now we have a majority of foreign terrorists only, it is apparent that Pakistan-based terror outfits are now pushing foreigners to carry out the terror activities in Valley,” the official said.

On the other hand, sources said at present, there were 45 foreign militants operating in Valley. According to them, this year, the number of local youth joining militant groups has also remained less. Sources reveal that around seven youth joined militant ranks this year against 22 local men, who had joined militant organisations in 2023.

This month, there have been two major operations in Valley. Other than Thursday’s operation, in which five were killed in Kulgam, in another operation earlier this month, a militant from Kulgam was killed in Srinagar’s outskirts. He was one of the two militants who had carried out an attack on tunnel workers in Ganderbal.

In November, the security forces had also conducted several successful operations in Valley. Eight militants have been killed in different anti-militancy operations.