In the past three years, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed the killing of 119 security forces personnel, and over 40% of these killings were reported from the Jammu division, data available with The Hindu shows.
On Monday, four Army personnel and a J&K police official were killed by unidentified terrorists in the Desa forest area in Doda district, about 160 km from Jammu city.
From 2021, at least 51 security personnel have been killed in various incidents initiated by terrorists in Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, and Udhampur districts, a deviation from the past three years, when the Kashmir Valley was the epicentre of such incidents.
Compared with five terrorist incidents and two security personnel killed in the Valley this year, Jammu has seen six such attacks in which 12 security personnel were killed. The number of incidents reported the Valley in 2021, 2022 and 2023 stood at 126, 103 and 29, respectively.
An official said that Monday’s cordon and search operation in Doda, where the four Army personnel were killed, was based on a specific intelligence input. This was the third major encounter between security forces and terrorists in the forests of Doda district in the past three weeks.
It is estimated that a group of 20-25 foreign terrorists entrenched in an area of 30-40 sq. km. have split into multiple groups and are initiating the attacks.
“All of them appear to be hardened terrorists with sophisticated weapons. They have a fair idea of the topography, and are taking advantage of thick foliage and forest cover to launch attacks,” the official said.
A phony group, ‘Kashmir Tigers’, has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that the Army was attacked from two sides.
Officials said that in the past, the group had made similar claims after terror attacks, but it looked more of a “propaganda front active only on paper”.
J&K has been under Central rule since June 2018. Since November 2023, the Union Territory has not had a full-time Director General of Police. The current DGP, R.R. Swain, is the “in-charge” DGP.
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After the 2020 Galwan clash, a large number of troops were withdrawn from the Jammu division and deployed to Eastern Ladakh.
Since early 2021, intelligence agencies picked up chatter that indicated Pakistan-based handlers were contacting ex-militants. The Chenab Valley, which comprises Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts of the Jammu division, was declared “militancy free” in police records on June 29, 2020, when the police killed Masood, the last surviving Hizbul Mujahideen militant from Doda in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Anantnag.
Officials said the security grid in Jammu is being tightened, and redeployment and recalibration of security forces is being carried out.
The Desa forest attack comes ahead of the Supreme Court mandated deadline of September 30 to conduct Assembly elections in J&K. In 2019, the special status of J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution was read down by the Parliament, and the former State was split into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh, the latter without an Assembly.
Apart from the Army, there are around 60,000 Central Reserve Police Force personnel deployed in J&K.
