The J&K police chief also said that infiltration has come down this year compared to previous years, 'but a few successful attempts were reported'

Forty foreign militants have been killed in various encounters with the security forces in Kashmir in the first 10 months of this year compared to 19 such killings in the whole of 2021.

According to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police chief Dilbagh Singh, wiping out foreign militants has been a special focus this year which has also resulted in a significant decline in the recruitment of locals into the militancy.

"This year, our special focus was to eliminate foreign terrorists in the Valley. They were instrumental in provoking and luring youth into terrorism," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Kashmir Marathon-2022 organised by the J&K police, here.

The police chief said that this year 40 foreign militants were killed in various operations; those who are still active are on the radar of police and security forces. "They will also be killed soon," Singh asserted.

He said that all militant outfits operating in Kashmir were facing a leadership crisis after the elimination of the top commanders and dismantling of terror infrastructure. "Due to the killing of foreign terrorists, the local recruitment has dropped significantly," Singh claimed.

The J&K police chief also said that infiltration has come down this year compared to previous years, "but a few successful attempts were reported."

"As winter is around the corner, terror handlers across the border may try to push terrorists into our side before snow blocks passes along the Line of Control (LoC)," he said.

On targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and non-locals, Singh said that such acts were being carried out to disrupt the peace in the Valley and to damage communal harmony. "A major aim of such acts is to provoke people across India to target Kashmiris working in other states. I am grateful to Indian citizens for behaving maturely and not falling into the trap laid by the agencies supporting terrorism," the J&K police chief said.

Singh said that using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) was a new strategy of militants to inflict damage on security forces. "Some IED consignments which were airdropped through drones were seized in Jammu. But unfortunately, some IED explosions were reported in Udhampur in which a few people were injured," he said.