Monday, December 23News and updates from Kashmir

73 Local Militants Killed this Year, At Least 100 Joined

July 11

73 Local Militants have been killed since January this year. The forces also eliminated two militants in gunfight at Shopian district on Tuesday, taking the total numbers at 108, 23 Government Force personnel have also been killed during these operations.

This year the Government Forces have been able eliminate top commanders such as Saddam Padder (Hizb ul Mujahideen), Sameer Tiger (Hizbul Mujahideen), Shakoor Dar (Lashkar e Taiba), Pakistan’s Mufti Waqas (Jaish-e-Mohammed) and Abu Hamas (AGH) were also killed this year.

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At a time when Government forces are killing Militants, a large number of local youths joining the militancy in the valley.

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Figures available to The Kashmiriyat estimate that at least 100 youths have joined the ranks of militants this year.In the beginning of this year, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in a reply in the Jammu Kashmir Legislative House had said, “As many as 66 youths joined militancy in 2015, 88 in 2016 and 126 in 2017.

The Local recruitment in militancy began after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter in south Kashmir on July 8, 2016.