Suryaa Now National News Desk: A series of terrorist attacks in Kulgam in South Kashmir and the Chenab Valley (Kishtwar) in the Jammu region have disrupted the recent peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir, placing security forces on high alert. These near-simultaneous incidents occurred shortly after Kashmir Zone IGP Sujit Kumar stated that only one local terrorist remained active in the Kashmir Valley.
On November 11, two major incidents occurred. In the first, terrorists launched a sudden attack on a roadside security checkpoint in the Akhran area of Kulgam district during the afternoon. Three soldiers from the CRPF’s 46th Battalion were injured, with one in critical condition. The attack took place while Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was in the district to inaugurate the 'Vesho Literature Festival'.
In the second incident, two Special Police Officers (SPOs) went missing in Kishtwar district. On November 12, their bodies were recovered in the Dachhan-Marwah forest area with gunshot wounds. The terrorists seized their service weapons.
Security agencies are analyzing the patterns of these attacks. In Kulgam, terrorists executed a hit-and-run strike on a highway checkpoint before fleeing into nearby dense vegetation. In Kishtwar, terrorists are exploiting the lack of mobile network and surveillance in high-altitude forest areas like Dachhan-Marwah and Chhatroo. Security agencies suspect that the Kulgam attack may have involved the remaining local terrorist, Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Mohammad Latif Bhat, working alongside foreign terrorists. The support provided by local Over Ground Workers (OGWs) to foreign terrorists remains a challenge for security forces.
Officials note that as winter approaches, terrorists typically move from high-altitude areas to lower regions, often operating in small groups to carry out attacks.
Former Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General (Retd) D.S. Hooda analyzed that as the number of terrorists has decreased, they are opting for hit-and-run tactics on soft targets rather than suicide attacks to minimize their own casualties, though he warned that the risk of larger attacks cannot be ruled out. Lieutenant General (Retd) K.J.S. Dhillon stated that the Kulgam attack is an attempt to distract from Pakistan's internal crises and disrupt peace and winter tourism in Kashmir.
Former DGP S.P. Vaid expressed confidence that the security grid remains strong and that the perpetrators will be neutralized. Conversely, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah stated that political issues cannot be resolved through gunfire and military conflict, advocating for talks between India and Pakistan.
While Jammu and Kashmir has seen a decline in local terrorist recruitment since 2019 and the CRPF recently completed 12 months without casualties, these incidents indicate that the threat from small foreign terrorist modules persists.
