The youths joining the terror ranks in Jammu and Kashmir have a "short shelf life" with more than 64 per cent of theꦜm being killed by security forces within a year, off💯icials said on Sunday.
Security forces, aided by a strong on-ground intelligence network, have scaled up anti-terror operations in the first five months of this year, th✃ough frequent violence in south Kashmir remained a cause for concern, they said.
Citing data of terrorists neutrali💫sed between January 1 and May 31 this year, the officials said 64.1 per cent of the new terror recruits were eliminated within a year. Only 26🐟.6 per cent of the terror recruits lasted more than 12 months, while the fate of 9.3 per cent of them was not known, they said.
Giving further details, the officials said 28.1 per cent of the terror recruits were killed within 🍸one month, 54.7 per cen🎃t within six months and 59.4 per cent within nine months.
The officials sai🐻d 70 to 75 youths have joined various terror groups in Kashmir Valley in the first🌃 five months of this year. The corresponding figure of last year was near equal.
They💟 said south Kashmir continued to be the hoꦚtbed of terrorism in the valley as the region saw 59 terrorist killings by security forces in the first five months of this year compared to 31 such killings in central and north Kashmir.
Out of the total 90 terrorists killed in the valley between January and May, 26 were Pakistani nationals and the number is much more than that of the whole of previous year when 182 terrorists🙈, including 20 foreigners, were killed in 100 anti-terror operations, the officials said.
The officials said 45 terrorists were arrested during the period a🍰long with 🅷huge cache of arms and ammunition, with analysis and intelligence inputs suggesting a large supply of pistols aimed at target killings besides AK assault rifles, improvised explosive devices and sticky bombs.
Six of theꦿ 90 terrorists killed in 47 encounters were eliminated on the Line of Control (LoC) while trying to infiltrate into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the officials said, adding the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) suffered the major setbacks as 52 of its terroristsꦉ were eliminated and 18 others apprehended since January this year.
The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) was the second on the chart with 20 of its terrorists being killed and four others arrested, followed by the Hizbul M♋ujahideen (11 dead and one arrested) and Al-B🌠adr (four dead and three arrested). The identity of three remaining slain terrorists could not be ascertained, the officials said.
The officials said the four districts of south Kashmir -- Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian -- recorded the killing of 59 terrorists and arrest of 10 others, while summer capital Srinagar 🐬witnessed the killing of 11 terrorists, including four Pakistani terrorists, and ar🐬rest of four others.
Pulwama district recor𝓡ded the highest number of 27 killings of terrorists, including seven foreigners, followed by Anantnag (12), Kulgam (11) and Shopian (nine). Among the 11 terrorists killed in Kulgam, five were foreign terrorists, the officials said.
Seven terrorists were killed and eight otherꦯs arrested in central Kashmir's Budgam district while Ganderbal district, which also falls in central Kashmir, saw the lowest incidents of terror activities with only one militant eliminated in a gunfight, the officials said.
In north Kashmir, which is being used by terrorists as a gateway to𒁏 infiltrate into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the officials said a total of 12 terrorists, including 10 foreigners, were killed and 23 others arrested.
Of them, six terrorists, including five foreigners, were killed in the bor🌄der districts of Kupwara, three foreigners in Baramulla and three others, including two foreigners, in Bandipora. Eighteen terrorists were also arrested in Baramulla district and five others in Bandipora district, they said.
The officials said a total of 61 terro𝓰rist-initiated incidents were reported from across the valley during the five-month period and half of them 🐼were reported from Pulwama and Srinagar districts.
They said a large number of weapons, including AK assault rifles and🦹 pistols, were recovered from the slain and arrested terrorists, indicating that the a🦋vailability of weapons has increased.
The officials said another alarming trend noticed was the large influx of🃏 pistols apparently meant to c😼arry out targeted killings.
Nearly 350 pistols were recovered by the security forces during anti-terrorist operations since January this year with 92 seized ꦍin the month of May, the officials said, adding five IEDs were also recovered in May for the first time this year with int༺elligence inputs pointing to the use of magnetic bombs, also known as sticks bombs, by terrorists.
(With PTI inputs)
