India: How terrorists are shifting gears with focus on Jammu as hotbed of terror 

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Jammu region’s Pir Panjal range has become the hotbed for terrorists these days. The dense forest range and the steep mountains have become a safe haven for the newly infiltrated terrorists. While Jammu and Kashmir Police say there are around 70-80 active foreign terrorists in the Union Territory, a fresh batch of 25-30 terrorists have recently infiltrated the region.

According to sources, these terrorists are highly trained ones from Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

They have served in areas like Afghanistan and are laced with the latest weaponry. These terrorists are active in the region for the last five months and are carrying out attacks on security forces.

Just three years ago, Kashmir Valley remained the epicenter of terrorist attacks, but now the terrorist’s strategy appears to have changed, and they have shifted to Jammu as the hub. 

According to recent data, 109 terror incidents happened in the last three years in the Union Territory, and out of them 53 per cent were witnessed in the hills of Jammu.

Around 51 security personnel have lost their lives in the Union territory since June 2021. The terrorists are continuously targeting security forces in Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua, Reasi, Doda, and Udhampur districts. 

In 2024, Jammu witnessed 14 terror attacks, and 13 security personnel were killed during these attacks.

Sources in security forces say that around 25-30 foreign terrorists who have recently infiltrated are active in the Doda, Chenab Valley belt and the same number are active in Poonch-Rajouri belt. These terrorists have divided into small groups and are moving from one place to another, and are carrying out these attacks and ambushes. 

Our sources say that most of these terrorists belong to Jaish and Lashkar, and all are foreigners. And most of the attacks that have taken place in the Doda area have been claimed by Kashmir Tiger’s, an offshoot of Jaish. Most of the attacks that have taken place in Poonch and Rajouri were claimed by ‘People’s Anti-Fascist Front’ of Jaish and Lashkar. 

Defence analysts say all these terrorists are from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa having battle experience, including in Afghanistan, and Syria, sources added that former Pakistan Army soldiers may also be among them.

The presence of Pathan fighters from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, who have earlier fought alongside the Taliban, cannot be ruled out. 

According to some top officials, the active terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir recently infiltrated in the past six months from Shamshawari hills of Kupwara range of Kashmir and managed to reach Chenab valley and the Poonch-Rajouri sector. The terrorists have also infiltrated from the international border.

However, both the Poonch-Rajouri and Doda-Kathua-Reasi batches have the same modus operandi. They have the same level of military training, reconnaissance capability, aversion to use of technology and similar guerilla warfare tactics. 

Experts say that these terrorists are carrying out the arms and ammunition left behind by the US army in Afghanistan. These terrorists also carry body cams to make videos of the attacks they carry out and release them on social media later to glorify terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, security forces believe that these videos can be used to attract Kashmiri youth to join the militant ranks. 

One of the most important aspects is that these terrorists are not using traceable technology such as phones, etc.

WION had recently done a story on how these terrorists are using ultra-set and radio frequency messenger that cannot be intercepted for communication and have no SIM card. These terrorists also very rarely visit villages and use Over Ground Workers. 

The security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have developed a new strategy to counter the new terror groups.