Uri then, Pulwama now: Kashmir is becoming ‘death valley’ for soldiers

The Pulwama car bombing — that has killed 44 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and left around two dozen injured — was the deadliest among six major ambush attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir in the recent years. Since 2014, over 400 soldiers have lost their lives in the combat operations and militant attacks in the conflict-ridden state.

Almost three years ago heavily-armed militants had targeted Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri in 2016. Both the attacks—though completely different in nature—expose how security forces in J&K remain vulnerable despite intelligence agencies as well as the Army’s “Operation All-Out” against militants.

The data released by Modi government shows 176 percent rise in the number of militancy related incidents in the state between 2014 and 2018. It indicates about 94 percent rise in the number of security personnel killed in such incidents.

Here’s a list of some major ambush attacks on security forces:

5 December 2014: Six heavily-armed terrorists storm an Army camp at Mohra in Uri. Ten soldiers were killed in the gun battle with the intruders, who were all shot dead.

25 June 2016: Terrorists open indiscriminate firing on a CRPF bus, killing eight soldiers at Pampore on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.

18 September 2016: Four Pakistani terrorists storm an Army camp at Uri in Baramulla district, killing 18 soldiers, most of them were in sleep. The assailants were also killed. The incident led to reprisal surgical strikes inside the Pakistan occupied Kashmir by Indian Army.

29 November 2016: Three terrorists storm Army artillery camp at Nagrota in Jammu, killing seven soldiers, before the assailants were eliminated.

26 August 2017: Three Jaish terrorists storm District Police Lines Pulwama, killing eight security force personnel, before the assailants were shot dead.

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While the government had stated that 339 soldiers were killed in militancy related incidents in the state from 2014 to 2018, the data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal in addition to the number of recent deaths, show that 402 soldiers have been killed in militant attacks in the state since 2014.

Recently, the Union Home Ministry told Rajya Sabha that between 2016 and 2018, close to 398 militants infiltrated into J&K. On an average, this breaks down to 11 terrorists infiltrating into the state every month in the past three years. However, the security forces, as per government data, killed as many as 620 militants in the same period.

The government data further showed that the highest number of infiltrations into J&K took place in June last year when 38 militants were estimated to have entered the state from across the border. This was followed by September 2016 and May 2017, the two months when 25 terrorists infiltrated into J&K.

Also, there has been a rising trend in the number of people who were killed in militancy related violence in the state. Between 2014 and February 13, 2018, South Asia Terrorism Portal, a total of 202 civilians and 917 militants were also killed in 674 incidents in the state.