Nearly one-third of the militants in Kashmir have a life span of less than three months once they join the ranks, around 44 percent are killed within six months, and nearly two in every three (62.6 per cent) are killed in less than a year, Indian Express quoting army data has reported.
Army data show that of the 131 local recruits in the Valley till September 2020 (up from 117 in 2019), 102 were between the ages of 16 and 25 — 62 were killed, 14 apprehended and two had surrendered. They show that the total number of militants killed in J-K till October is 171, along with 50 apprehended and three surrendered.
Army data show that of the 207 active militants in the Valley, 117 are local recruits and 90 from Pakistan. A region-wise break-up of the data shows that north Kashmir has 22 local recruits and 65 Pakistani militants while the south has 95 local recruits and 25 militants from across the border. The data show that while 24 youth joined militancy in north Kashmir, 107 did so in the south.
Of the total number of militants present in Kashmir as of October, 89 are with Lashkar-e-Taiba, of which 51 are Pakistani, the data show. Hizbul Mujahideen has a total 56 militants, with 52 local recruits; Jaish-e-Mohammed has 52; and, Al Badr, which had been dormant for many years, had recruited 16 local youth this year of which 10 are active.
