New Delhi: With two back-to-back strikes against security forces in Poonch and Rajouri within a fortnight, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have sent out a message that their operations are still active but it is the fresh challenge in the form of lone-wolf terrorism that is concerning security agencies in the Union Territory.
As far as the number of terror acts is concerned, it gives a clear hint about the presence of lone wolves in the valley, stated an intelligence bureau (IB) report submitted to the Home Ministry. Lone wolf attacks have evolved as the new face of terrorism and bring unique challenges for counter-terrorism. Violent terror attacks by extremist individuals acting upon their radicalised beliefs are termed 'lone wolf terrorism.' The actions of lone wolves are either inspired or influenced by a specific terrorist organisation and ideology or operate within a particular social atmosphere.
Lone wolf terrorists might be 'loners' acting individually without a particular ideological influence and therefore without a leader, they are free to move between groups. According to a senior official in the intelligence department, lone wolf terrorist and their attacks have an element of unpredictability, because of which counter-terrorism agencies, police, and intelligence organisations have found it challenging to tackle.
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"Lone wolf attackers operate as individuals or small groups without any assistance of formal links to a terrorist organization. Many times, lone wolves do not have any criminal background, and their activities tend to escape the security agencies' surveillance unlike organised terrorist groups," the official said. It has been seen that radicalization plays a critical role in the making of a lone wolf terrorist in Kashmir, which mostly happens online through social media platforms, encrypted chat rooms on the dark net, and propaganda on instant messaging apps.
"These virtual spaces enable like-minded extremist individuals to consume the propaganda and disinformation which acts as an enabler of violence. In cyberspace, particularly on the dark web, they also get access to training manuals and videos on how to operate weapons and make explosives by maintaining their anonymity," the official said.
The IB report emphasized the need to expand on the community engagement efforts to mount de-redicalisation and counter-radicalization efforts. Terming acts of grenade lobbying as examples of lone wolf attacks, according to the IB report, the frequency of such types of attacks gives a clear hint of the availability of lone wolves in Kashmir valley and their willingness to operate in the valley.
The report while giving instances of such grenade attacks in 2022 further said that lone wolf terrorists were mostly involved in 27 incidents that took place in Srinagar, Pulwama, Genderbal, Bandipora, Awantipora, Shopian, Budgam, Kulgam, Baramulla, Anantnag.
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