21 terrorists killed in J&K encounters in June-July | India News

NEW DELHI: The months of June and July have been the deadliest for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, with 21 killed in encounters with security forces between June 1 and July 20. In the first five months of this year, 14 terrorists were neutralised.

After a decline in the number of terrorists killed in J&K between January and April — with four fatalities recorded in January, three in February, one in March and nil in April — the graph started rising in May with six terrorist fatalities, before shooting up to 13 in June. Till the 20th day of this month, eight fatalities of terrorists were recorded.
Experts said this trend was not surprising as infiltration usually dips in the winter months due to closing of passes; alternatively, as the snow melts, attempts at crossing over from Pakistan start rising.

Between January 1-July 20 this year and the corresponding period of 2022, there was a 73% dip in the number of terrorists neutralised, a trend security experts attributed to curbed terrorist activity and falling local recruitment.
As per official data sourced by TOI, 35 terrorists were killed in J&K between January 1 and July 20, as against 131 terrorists killed during the same period last year. The fatalities among local terrorists fell to eight during January-July 20 from 95 during the same period in 2022. Foreign terrorists killed in engagements with security forces fell to 27 from 36 during the period under comparison.
The dip in local terrorists killed is matched by the fall in their percentage in overall terrorists currently active in J&K. As on July 20, 109 terrorists were said to be active, which included 71 foreign terrorists and 38 locals.