By Sumit Kumar Singh

New Delhi, Jun 13 (IANS): Residents of Jammu and Kashmir are absolutely fed up with militancy and terrorism and they want the situation to return to normal, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Saturday.

Talking about frequent operations against terrorists hiding in the valley, Naravane said, "Most of the operations were based on the information provided by the locals themselves. This goes on to show that they are also absolutely fed up with militancy and terrorism and they want the situation to return to normal."

Talking about the overall situation across the valley, the General said the Indian Army achieved a lot of success over the last few days. "As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, we have had a lot of success in the last one week or 10 days. In the last one week alone, more than 15 terrorists have been killed."

He attributed the success to the close cooperation and coordination between all the security forces operating in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

A few hours before General Naravane's view on the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir, two terrorists were killed in an encounter that took place between terrorists and security forces at Zadoora Nipora area in South Kashmir's Kulgam district. The encounter took place after police and army launched a joint operation in the area on the basis of a specific intelligence input.

This year till June 11, a total 98 terrorists were killed in the valley. In the month of June alone, till the 11th day, a total 20 terrorists were killed. In May, 18 terrorists were eliminated and in April the figure was 28. In March and February, seven terrorists each were eliminated. In January, 18 terrorists were killed.

In 2019, a total 158 terrorists were eliminated and in 2018, the security forces killed 254 terrorists in the valley. In 2017, a total 213 terrorists were killed.

This year, security forces have managed to eliminate a few of the most wanted terrorists. In May, Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir's most wanted terrorists and the commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama.

Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) commander Adil Ahmad Wani and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) cadre Shaheen Ahmad Thoker were killed on May 25 at Khud Hanjipora Kulgam, while Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Parvaiz Ahmad Pandith and JeM commander Shakir Ahmed Itoo were neutralised on May 30.