J-K terror groups striving for media publicity: Home Ministry

With security forces increasingly achieving success against terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, militants turned their attention to soft targets like tourists and migrant labourers in 2006 in a bid to gain media attention.

By Vikram Vishal

New Delhi, May 1 : With security forces increasingly achieving success against terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, militants turned their attention to soft targets like tourists and migrant labourers in 2006 in a bid to gain media attention.

According to the Annual Report 2006-07 of the Home Ministry, a discernible change in violence after April 2006 suggests a tactical shift against soft targets, including minority communities, tourists and migrant labourers in the State."Terrorist outfits aim at gaining media, public attention and engineering mob protests and demonstrations to discredit security forces and alienate the public mind," said the report.

Although the level of violence in the State showed a declining trend last year, militants adopted a new strategy of grenade attacks.

During the year 2006, 226 grenade attacks occurred as compared to 152 in the corresponding period of the last year, an increase of 49 per cent.

Terrorist-related incidents came down by 16 percent, killings of civilians by 30 percent and those of security personnel by 20 percent during the year 2006 as compared to the year 2005.

The Report suggested that infiltration declined marginally by four percent in 2006 over 2005. Last year, an estimated 573 infiltrators were reported to have crossed over and infiltration continued with ever changing routes and techniques being deployed.

Infiltration of better-trained and professional groups, equipped in breaching fences and negotiating hurdles were also reported in the year gone by.

As on date, nine terrorist outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir, namely, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Al-Umar-Mujahideen (AuM), Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF), Al-Badr, Jamiat-ul- Mujahideen (JuM) and Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) were declared as 'terrorist organisations' under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, (POTA) 2002.

After the repeal of POTA, these outfits continue to remain banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004.

ANI