48 militants killed in June, highest in month: J&K IG

SRINAGAR: As many as 48 militants, including top commanders, were killed in different operations in Kashmir in June, the highest in a month so far, said Kashmir inspector general of police Vijay Kumar on Thursday.

In the last six months, 118 militants were killed in different encounters and compared to last year local recruitment have witnessed a nearly 50% decline, said officials.

Most of the slain militants were locals who had joined the rank and file of militants and most of them had been active in south Kashmir’s Shopain, Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam.

Kashmir inspector general of police Vijay Kumar said June saw the highest number of militant killings: “Before June, the highest number of militants were killed in November, 2018, when 39 militants were slain in a single month.’’

He said in the last six months, security forces had killed 118 militants in different operations. “Among those killed 11 were foreigners, 107 were locals, 57 were affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen, 24 with the Lashkar-eTaiba, 22 with Jaish- e-Mohammad, seven each with Ansar Gazawatul Hind and Jammu Kashmir Islamic State (JKIS) and one with Al-Badr,’’ he said, adding that around 50% of the killed militants were affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen.

The IG said that among the killed militants some were top commanders, including Hizbul

Mujahideen operation commander Riyaz Naikoo who was killed in Pulwama district.

‘WILL FOCUS ON 12 COMMANDERS’

“For the next two months, we will focus on 12 commanders of different organisations and will try to neutralise them,’’ the IG said.

Police say militant recruitment had also witnessed a decline in the last six months compared to last year. “This year, in the first six months, 67 people joined militants in Kashmir, of them 24 were killed in different encounters and 12 were arrested.

Last year, in the same period, 129 people had joined militants, which indicates an around 48% decline in fresh recruitment.’’

The IG said that during the operations, the forces recovered 121 weapons from slain militants.

Police said that in the last six months, forces also busted 66 militant modules and recovered 21 weapons from them. “In the last six months, around 200 weapons were recovered in Kashmir.’’

Police had declared Doda militant-free after Hizbul commander, Masood Bhat, was killed in Anantnag with two militants.