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Army offensive catches J&K militants unawares

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

The recent infiltration of a large number of militants in south Kashmir has forced the security forces to launch an aggressive operation this month leading to one of the highest-ever casualty figures among militants in the trouble-torn valley.

According to estimates by the Indian Army, 67 militants have been killed by security forces in the area south of Jawahar Tonnel, mostly in Ananth Nag district.

According to army sources, in the last two days alone 24 militants have been killed. On November 25, 14 militants were killed in five separate encounters and 23 weapons were recovered.

In the last couple of months, there have been authoritative reports of a large number of militants entering the south Kashmir region, hitherto considered a 'safe area'.

The possibility of the area south of Jawahar Tonnel too becoming a haven for terrorists had scared the government and in the recent review meetings this issue had figured prominently.

Reacting to intelligence alerts, security agencies had launched joint operations shifting the focus of the offensive from north to south Kashmir. The Army Headquarters in New Delhi claimed that the "speed and ferocity of the operations has ostensibly taken the militants by total surprise".

The joint operations involve the army, the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force and the state police. The army said the "success of these operations is attributed to the well-coordinated thrust by all the security agencies".

In November, the security agencies gunned down Hurkatul Mujahaddin district commander Asghar, arms controller Ismail and two HM commanders Tufail and Tariq.

Of the 67 militants killed in November, 21 were foreign militants. One of the foreign militants killed in Nagni forest on November 24 was identified as an Albanian.

Security agencies claim that they have located and destroyed 15 hideouts/ caches in south Kashmir, besides recovering a large amount of weapons. Among the weapons recovered are 59 AK rifles, a PIKA gun, one sniper rifle, 17 pistols, five disposable rocket launchers, one Saxhorn missile, 37 RPG rockets, a large quantities of hand grenades and other ammunition.

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