November deadliest month for rebels in J&K with 37 deaths
OPERATION Officials say the spate of militant killings have led to a sharp fall in LeT cadres SRINAGAR:
With the killing of 37 militants in different encounters across Kashmir, November has been the deadliest month for the rebels. Among the nine top militant commanders killed this month, five were affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen and four with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
LeT’s Naveed Jatt, the prime suspect in the June murder of journalist Shujaat Bukhari, was killed on Wednesday in Budgam.
According to official figures, 227 militants have been killed in different parts of Kashmir until November 29 this year. LeT and the Hizbul Mujahideen have suffered the maximum fatalities in 2018, losing a combined 207 militants.
Officials admit that the focus in recent times has been to target militant commanders who play a crucial role in recruitment. J&K’s director general of police, Dilbag Singh, said nearly 250 militants operate in the state. “After several successful operations, the graph of militancy, especially in south Kashmir, has come down and also the fresh recruitment has declined,’’ he said.
A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said that more than 15 top militant commanders affiliated with the Jaishe-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkat-ulMujahideen and Ansar Gazwatul-Hind have been killed in different operations in 2018. “Even the militant modules which were helping commanders and several hideouts were busted,’’ he said.
The officer, however, said that now only three or four prominent top commanders are active, including Hizbul Mujahideen operational commander Riyaz Naikoo, Al-Badr commander Zeenat-ul Islam, Lateef Tiger, who was an associate of late HIzbul commander Burhan Wani, and Zakir Musa, chief of the Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind. “The killings of several top militants has put the commanders under tremendous pressure,’’ the officer said.
The spate of militant killings, officials said, has led to a fall in the number of Lashkar-e-Taiba cadres, which was earlier between 120-150. Officials say at least 100 Lashkar-e-Taiba militants are still active. This year, at least 46 militants were killed on the Line of Control while trying to sneak into the Valley.
Officials cited several reasons for the successful operations in south Kashmir, especially in the last three months. “The intelligence network, flow of information both from (various) sources and shifting of the militants from forests to populated areas in the month of November are the reasons for the killing of militants,’’ an officer deployed in south Kashmir, a hotbed of militancy, said on condition of anonymity .
A surge in militant fatalities is noticed usually in the months of October and November, when militants shift base. Last year, in the two months, 44 militants were killed; in the past two months, the tally has already reached 63.
Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed by security forces in a gun battle in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district early on Thursday. Police identified the militants as Adnan Lone and Adil Bhat of Hizbul. Lone was acting as district commander for Pulwama.
A police spokesperson said a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by the police and security forces based on credible information about the presence of militants in the Sharshali area of Khrew in Awantipora.
“As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the militants. The fire was retaliated, leading to a gunfight,” the spokesperson said.