SRINAGAR: At least 182 militants, 43 security men and 34 civilians were killed in militancy violence in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. While 134 youth joined militancy this year, 168 militants are now active in the Valley, which is the lowest in the last three decades of militancy in the region.
DGP Dilbagh Singh told media in Jammu on Friday that 182 militants of different outfits were killed in 100 operations in the UT this year. Of the slain militants, 171 (152 locals and 19 foreigners) were killed in Kashmir. Of them 44 were top commanders.
On militant recruitment, the DGP said 134 locals joined militancy this year. Of them 128 youth joined militant ranks in Kashmir and 6 in Jammu region. The highest number of recruitment has taken place in south Kashmir's Shopian district, where 33 youth joined militancy.
The Lashkar-e-Toiba/TRF has witnessed maximum recruitment with 75 militants joining the outfit.
The DGP said that the "shelf life" of new militant recruits is very less. "They are getting killed within either 24 hours of joining militancy or within a month or 3-4 months," he said. IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar in a press conference in Srinagar said that 168 militants, including 85 locals and 83 foreigners, are now active in Kashmir.