2023 year-ender: How 6 major attacks indicate a shift in militancy in Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir saw six major militancy related incidents in 2023 in which 26 security personnel including several officers laid down their lives. Interestingly, all of these attacks took place in the higher regions of the Union Territory. ETV Bharat's Muhammad Zulqarnain Zulfi collates when and where the attacks took place.

Srinagar (J&K):Despite government officials claiming terrorism was at its fag end in Jammu and Kashmir, the erstwhile state saw a marked shift in militancy-related incidents during 2023. The year witnessed 134 casualties with most of the encounters and attacks taking place in the woods and higher regions of the Union Territory.

Among these 134 were 87 militants, 33 security forces personnel, and 12 civilians. Twenty six of the 33 armed troopers were killed in six major militancy-related incidents, four of which took place in the border Rajouri-Poonch zone of the Jammu region.

Here is a look at the major militancy-related incidents reported from Jammu and Kashmir during 2023.

• J&K: Major militancy-related incidents in 2023

April 20, 2023 (Bhatta Durrian)

Five Rashtriya Rifles soldiers -- Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Singh, Harkrishan Singh, Sewak Singh, and Debashish Biswal -- were killed and another one injured in an ambush militants carried out between Bhimber Gali and Poonch at Bhatta Durrian in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch District. In an official statement, the Indian Army then stated: "Unidentified militants, taking advantage of the heavy rains and poor visibility in the region, opened fire on an army vehicle that was travelling between Bhimber Gali and Poonch. The vehicle caught fire, perhaps as a result of militants using grenades."

May 5, 2023 (Kesari Hills forests)

Barely a fortnight later, unidentified militants used a remote control to set off an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in the Kesari Hills forests in the Kandi region of the Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir killing five more soldiers. Commandos from the 9 Para (Special Forces) accounted for four of the slain troops, while the fifth one was associated with a battalion of Army's Rashtriya Rifles. The troops who were killed were identified by the Indian army as Paratrooper Siddhant Chettri, Paratrooper Pramod Negi, Lance Naik Ruchin Singh Rawat, Paraik Arvind Kumar, and Havildar Neelam Singh.

August 4, 2023 (Hallan forests)

Three soldiers from the 34 Rashtriya Rifles—Havildar Babulal Haritwal, signalman Vala Mahipalsinh Pravinsinh, and rifleman Waseem Sarwar—were killed in an encounter with militants at the Hallan forests of south Kashmir's Kulgam district a day prior to the fourth anniversary of Article 370 abrogation.

September 13 (Gadool forests)

Three officers including an Army colonel and Major, and a DySP of J&K Police were among five security personnel killed in an encounter with militants in the Gadool forests in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. The five personnel were killed during the initial exchange of fire. September 19 marked the conclusion of the region's third-longest encounter with the deaths of Humayun Muzamil Bhat, the deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir police, Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonchak, Sepoy Pradeep Singh, and Sepoy Salvinder Kumar. At least two militants, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Uzair Bashir Khan, were killed during the six-day encounter, according to the Jammu and Kashmir police.

The longest encounter took place in the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir in the forests between Dera Ki Gali and Bhimber Gali over the course of 19 days in 2021. On October 11, 2021, nine army personnel—two of them were Junior Commissioner Officers (JCOs)—were killed in this operation. On October 30, after 19 days of searches and crackdowns, the Army called off the operation. The second-longest encounter took place on December 31, 2008, in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir's Bhatti Dhar forest operation, and was subsequently called off on January 9, 2009. Four militants and three security personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, were killed in this operation.

November 22 (Gulbagh Forest)

During an encounter between security forces and militants in Gulbagh forests in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, four Army personnel—two captains, a havildar, and a Lance Naik—were killed and two more were injured. Captain MV Pranjal of the 63 Rashtriya Rifles, Captain Shubham Gupta, Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht, and Havildar Abdul Majid of the 9 PARA were named as the deceased. In an attempt to rescue Captain Pranjal, personnel from 9 PARA had entered the forests, but militants fired heavily at them which resulted in the casualties.

December 21 (Dera Ki Gali)

In the bordering Rajouri-Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir, militants ambushed two army vehicles that were driving through Dera Ki Gali (DKG), resulting in the killing of four troops and the injuries of three more. Officials identified the slain soldiers as Birendar Singh, Chandan Kumar, Karan Kumar, and Gautam Kumar. In the Buffliaz area of Poonch district, three people were found dead inexplicably one day after the militant attack. In response to claims of torture suffered by the relatives of the deceased during detention, the Indian Army subsequently launched an internal investigation into the matter. The Army Chief and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the area to review the situation.

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