Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a sharp increase this year in grenade and IED attacks and targeted killings over the previous year, government data showed. In the past two days alone, five civilians were shot dead in targeted attacks by terrorists.
According to government data accessed by News18, 34 grenade attacks were carried out by terrorists against security forces and civilians till September in 2020. This year, the figure for the same period rose to 44.
Attacks carried out using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) also increased by a massive 600%. Last year, only one such attack was reported in the Valley, while this year has seen seven such attacks till September. Security forces this year have also successfully defused 40 IEDs this year, nine more than the previous year.
The number of abductions by terrorists, however, have significantly dropped from nine in 2020 to one so far this year.
The biggest worry for security forces, however, are the targeted killings where civilians are being gunned down by terrorists. According to government data, the Union Territory has seen 34 such attacks this year, compared to 31 the previous year.
While five civilians were killed in the last two days, the death toll for the last five days has topped seven. Of the seven, four were from the minority Hindu and Sikh communities. Six of the deaths were reported from Srinagar.
Supinder Kaur, the principal of Government Boys Higher Secondary School at Eidgah in Srinagar, and Deepak Chand were gunned down at point-blank range around 11:15 am on Thursday on the school premises.
Makhan Lal Bindroo, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit and the owner of Srinagar’s most famous pharmacy, was shot dead at his shop on Tuesday.
A chaat vendor, Virendra Paswan from Bihar, and another civilian, Mohammad Shafi Lone, were also killed on Tuesday in Srinagar and Bandipora, respectively. On Saturday, terrorists shot dead Majid Ahmad Gojri in Srinagar and Mohammad Shafi Dar at Batamaloo.
In another incident on Thursday night, unidentified terrorists lobbed grenades targeting the platoon post of 161 CRPF battalion in Bararipora, Srinagar. The grenade exploded outside the boundary wall and no injuries were reported.
The government data showed 71 incidents of violence against security forces till September this year, the same as the last year. The data also revealed a drop in the number of encounters reported in J&K; from 92 last year to 59 till September this year.
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