Army worried with spike in recruits, guns down over 100 militants in Kashmir

New Delhi : Army gunned down over 100 militants, including 23 foreign terror agents in Kashmir in the first five months of 2019.  The security forces are worried with the spike in new recruits.

According to security forces in the Valley, nothing less than 50 youngsters have joined hands with several terror outfits since March - which has become a big challenge for the forces to battle against terror and thus propelling them to find a better solution around it.

Among the several other ways, the security establishment tries to control militancy and youth radicalisation is by cutting off their supply chain of command, intimating their families and educating them about the perils of abandoning civic life.

Till May 31, according to official figures, the Army has killed around 101 militants which include 23 foreigners and 78 locals. The list of killed militants includes names of top commanders like Zakir Musa, the chief of so-called Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

However, there is a sudden surge of militants from Hizbul Mujahideen joining Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, especially after the elimination of Musa on May 23, officials said.

The Army officials, noticing the sudden rise in number of militants, are raising demands to re-look all anti-militancy policy.

Among the terrorists killed, Shopian accounted for a maximum of 25, including 16 local militants. Pulwama was second with the killings of 15 militants, followed by Awantipora with 14 and Kulgam with 12. However, all these highly-volatile areas in south Kashmir continue to contribute more youths to various militant groups.