February deadliest month for security forces in Kashmir valley

From Pulwama attack in Kashmir valley on 14^th February 2019, in which 40 CRPF men were killed, militancy-hit again on the boil with security forces in Kashmir and the situation similar to 90s seems to be back in Kashmir.

According to the official figure 49 security forces personnel were killed in February this year. February was the bloodiest month for the security forces in the valley since September 2002 when 68 personnel had lost their lives in militant-related incidents of killings.

On 14 February 2019, a convoy of vehicles carrying security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora (near Awantipora) in the Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The attack resulted in the deaths of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the attacker.

The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The attacker was Adil Ahmad Dar, a local from Pulwama area of South Kashmir’s Jammu and Kashmir, and a member of Jaish-e-Mohammed.

In the same time period, as many as ten militants and one civilian were also killed during various encounters. Additionally, the total number of security forces fatalities during the first two months of 2019 now stand at 51 only two security forces personnel were killed in January which is more than half of the total 95 fatalities that occurred throughout 2018. The number of security forces fatalities in February is also more than the total security forces fatalities in 2014 (41) and 2015 (47).

After Pulwama attack Following intelligence inputs, in the early morning hours of 18 February, a joint team comprising 55 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and Special Operations Group of India killed two militants and two supporters in an anti-terrorism encounter operation in the ensuing manhunt for the perpetrators in Pulwama.

One of them, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran, was identified as a Pakistani national and was considered the mastermind of the attack and a commander of the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM). In addition, local JeM recruit Hilal Ahmed, along with two sympathizers who housed Ghazi and Ahmed to evade capture, was also shot dead in the encounter. Four security personnel were killed in the gunfight.

Killings in Kashmir After a low in 2012, when the total fatalities in the state were 117, the number of killings have steadily increased to a staggering 451 last year which is a 285 percent rise over a span of six years.

2018 was the bloodiest year in the valley in a decade. In 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, a total of 181, 189, 175, 267, and 357 people were killed. According to J&K Coalition of Civil Societies, another organization which compiles data on violence in the valley, the numbers are even higher. JKCCS pegs the total number of fatalities during 2018 at a significant 586 which includes 159 security forces personnel, 160 civilians and 267 militants.

(Disclaimer: Author is responsible for the correctness of data/information presented and Devdiscourse bears no responsibility in this regard.)