Militants in J-K took heavy toll on security forces in 2013

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a significant drop in the number of militancy-related incidents during 2013 but ultras took a heavy toll on security forces, killing more personnel than in past two years put together.
As many as 61 security force personnel were killed in militant attacks during the year, which marks over 100 per cent increase in the fatalities suffered by them during 2012. Forty-seven security force personnel were killed in 2012 and 2011 put together.
The number of militants killed this year declined to 97 compared to 119 last year. As many as 84 ultras were killed in 2011.

Although police and other security agencies maintain that there was nearly 30 per cent drop in militancy-related incidents during the year, insurgency continued to pose a major challenge to the security forces.
The security establishment maintained that infiltration of militants into Kashmir from across the Line of Control (LoC) also witnessed a drop this year despite many desperate attempts.
In October, state's police chief Ashok Prasad said militant violence in Kashmir has come down to the lowest level in the last 23 years.

He said violence "definitely decreased" by 30 per cent in 2013 as compared to last year, attributing the improvement in situation to better coordination among security agencies.

The security grid attributed the higher number of casualties of security forces partly to the strategy on the part of militants -- maximum effect with minimum impact on general public.
The change in the strategy was reflected when militants carried out a suicide attack, the first in the last three years, as two ultras targeted CRPF personnel in Bemina area of the city on March 13, killing five personnel and injuring seven others, before being shot dead.
In another major strike, militants on April 26, ambushed a police vehicle in Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district, killing four cops.