After a decline in the number of terrorists killed at J&K between January and April, with four deaths registered in January, three in February, one in March and zero in April: the graph began to rise in May with six terrorist deaths, before skyrocketing to 13 in June. Until the 20th of this month, eight terrorist deaths were recorded.
The experts said that this trend was not surprising, since infiltration usually decreases in the winter months due to the closure of the passes; alternatively, as the snow melts, attempts to cross from Pakistan begin to increase.
Between January 1 and July 20 of this year and the corresponding period in 2022, there was a 73% drop in the number of terrorists neutralized, a trend that security experts attributed to reduced terrorist activity and declining local recruitment.
According to official data provided by TOI, 35 terrorists were killed in J&K between January 1 and July 20, compared with 131 terrorists killed during the same period last year. Deaths among domestic terrorists fell to eight between January and July 20 from 95 over the same period in 2022. Foreign terrorists killed in clashes with security forces fell to 27 from 36 during the comparison period.
The drop in homegrown terrorists killed is matched by the drop in their percentage of total terrorists currently active in J&K. As of July 20, 109 terrorists were said to be active, including 71 foreign terrorists and 38 local ones.