The Indian Army on Sunday said that the six militants who were killed in an encounter in Hajin on Saturday were all foreign militants. Lieutenant General JS Sandhu, the general officer commanding the 15 Corps unit, said that in 2017, the Army had killed 125 to 130 militants in the “hinterland” of the Kashmir Valley and 190 militants in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Of these 190, 80 are local terrorists and 110 foreign,” he said at a press conference. “Of these 110, 66 were killed near the Line of Control while infiltrating...Local militants must realise that it is easy to call yourself a mujahid [one who strives in the name of God]. But are you a mujahid, or just a proxy for Pakistan?”
Sandhu urged local militants to “come back to the mainstream” to bring peace to the Kashmir Valley. “We are ready to receive them in an honourable manner,” he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid denied claims by the Islamic State that it was responsible for the attack in Srinagar’s Zakura area on Friday, in which one police officer died. “It has yet to be verified,” he said. “I don’t think the Islamic State has any imprint here in Kashmir.”
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