Foreign militants outnumber local terrorists in J&K

For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, more foreign militants were killed than local terrorists. Out of 72 terrorists killed by security forces in 2023, 50 were of foreign origin, officials said on Monday.

As per an assessment carried out by central agencies, 91 militants (61 of them being foreigners) are still active in J&K including the Rajouri-Poonch region, which remains a challenge for the security forces, said officials citing government data.

Union home minister Amit Shah is set to review J&K's overall security situation, including the recent incident in which Army personnel were ambushed in the Rajouri-Poonch region, they said. In 2022, 187 terrorists were killed by the security forces and 57 of them were of foreign origin, largely Pakistanis.


"There has been a sharp decline in the number of incidents in the Valley as compared to past years," said a senior official, adding that the Rajouri-Poonch region in Jammu is a new challenge for the security forces.

Last year on January 1 and 2, seven civilians were killed and 12 others injured in terror attacks in Rajouri. In April, an IED was used to kill five Army soldiers in Poonch. Jaish-e-Mohammad-affiliated People's Anti-Fascist Front had claimed responsibility for the attacks. In May, five soldiers were killed and another was injured in a gunfight with militants in the jungles of Rajouri-Poonch during a combing operation.

In November, five soldiers, including two Army captains, were killed in a two-day anti-terrorist operation in Rajouri. In December, militants killed four Army personnel and reportedly mutilated the bodies of at least two soldiers. The counteraction by security forces, however, led to the death of three civilians and injuries to others. Besides local police, the national and state agencies have intensified anti-terror operations across J&K to break the terror ecosystems.