NEW DELHI: As many as 151 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir this year. Of them, 21 were foreigners while 130 were locals, including the three killed in Srinagar on Wednesday, CRPF officials said.
That over 80 per cent of the terrorists were locals shows that radicalism continues to be a problem in the Union Territory despite claims of normalcy being restored in J&K after abrogation of its special status, a senior security official said.
In 2020, 195 terrorists were killed in J&K. A senior CRPF official said 199 terrorists are active in J&K, of which 110 are locals and 89 foreigners. Of the active terrorists, 97 were recruited to the fold of various groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, The Resistance Front (TRF), the official added. TRF, which has claimed responsibility for the recent civilian killings, is believed to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
J&K has been under Central rule since June 2018. In August, 2019, Parliament abrogated Article 370 that gave special status to J&K and bifurcated it into two UTs.
Meanwhile, the CRPF has enhanced the compensation to the next of kin of those killed in action. “The amount has been increased from Rs 21.5 lakh to Rs 35 lakh and for those who died of other reasons, it has been enhanced from Rs 16.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh,” the official said.