Security forces have killed more than 80 foreign terrorists in Kashmir Valley this year as compared to only 30-odd local terrorists, indicating better inflow of real time Intelligence. There were also reports of schism between the local and foreign terrorists and local people providing information to the security forces about the presence of foreign militants in the hinterland.
Officials in the security establishment said on Tuesday that 117 terrorists were killed this year and 30 of them were local. While these local terrorists mostly belong to Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen, foreign ultras come from lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Both these organisations are in Pakistan and they infiltrate their terrorists into Kashmir with the help of Pakistan Army and ISI.
In the past, Hizbul Mujahideen and leT had joined hands in carrying out terrorist strikes, sources said adding that the killing of foreign terrorists in large numbers was an indicator of growing distance between the local and foreign terrorists.
Foreign terrorists are harboured by local sympathisers who provide them with safe houses and other necessities like food. However, the foreign terrorists have no stakes in Kashmir and are now finding less “traction” amongst the local population and local militants, they said. This has resulted in better flow of Intelligence about the presence of terrorists who infiltrated from across the line of Control (loC) and the security forces managed to neutralise them, officials said.
The Army has launched a big campaign in North Kashmir, the main hub of foreign terrorists, a fortnight back in an effort to deny them freedom of movement. After infiltrating from across the loC, the foreign terrorists take refuge in sparsely populated villages in districts of North Kashmir including Keran, Macchil, Tangdhar and Gurez.
Intelligence reports indicate that 80 to 100 foreign terrorists are now hiding in these regions, officials said, adding many of them come down to South Kashmir and return to safe houses in North Kashmir after carrying out an attack.
Undertaking anti-terrorist operations almost every day as compared to two or three in a week in the past few months, the Army is trying to force these terrorists to come out of their “comfort zone”, they said. As the villages are not densely populated as compared to South Kashmir, the Army need not fear collateral damage and the local commanders have stepped up the tempo of operations, sources said.