After Sindoor: Military response up, terror down

India Today

4 days ago

Indian security forces killed three terrorists on July 28 in Harwan, near Srinagar's Dachigam National Park. This is the latest in a series of operations by Indian security forces following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.Since May 7's Operation Sindoor, Indian security forces have led more operations, like Keller, Nader, and Mahadev, where multiple terrorists were killed in Shopian, Tral, and Srinagar. Since then, terrorist activity has reduced in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in July.advertisementTERRORISM IN J&KBetween January and July this year, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 98 terror-related incidents, and 32 terrorists were killed in various encounters. There were 11 incidents in January and 17 in February, with no terrorists killed in February despite the spike.
However, the situation escalated in March, which recorded the highest number of terror-related incidents at 21, followed by April with 16. The most intense month was May, both in terms of operations and outcomes, where 13 terrorists were killed in 13 separate incidents.The spike in terrorist eliminations was largely due to Operation Sindoor and follow-up actions like Operation Keller and Operation Nader, all conducted within the same month. The focus during this period was firmly on tackling cross-border terror.After May, the number of incidents began to decline. June recorded 12 incidents, and in July, terror incidents dropped to eight, making it the calmest month this year. The number of terrorists killed also followed a similar pattern, peaking in May, dropping to four in June, and further to three in July.The nature of terror activity in Jammu and Kashmir appears to be shifting. Earlier, most incidents were concentrated in South Kashmir and along the border. But recent attacks and encounters, including the deadly Pahalgam ambush in April and the July operation near Harwan in Srinagar, show that violence is now moving closer to urban centres.Aftermath of OP SindoorAfter Operation Sindoor, the Indian government launched several operations to eliminate internal terror cells. On May 13, in Shopian's Keller Forest, three terrorists were killed, including a local Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, during a joint Army, Police, and CRPF operation. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the site.Just two days later, on May 15, another operation in Tral's Nader area neutralised three more terrorists, including Shahid Kuttay, who was linked to several attacks in South Kashmir. The most recent strike took place on July 28 in Harwan near Srinagar, where Para Special Forces gunned down three high-value targets, including Hashim Moosa, a Pakistani ex-commando and one of the key planners behind the Pahalgam attack. This operation followed weeks of surveillance and communication tracking.- EndsTune InMust Watch