NEW DELHI: As many as 400 security personnel were killed while fightinginsurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and in counter-Maoist operations acrossLeft-wing extremism-hit states in the past three years, Times of India hasreported.

Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahirlink> told the Lok Sabha inwritten reply to question that 572 civilians and 199 security personnellost their lives while fighting Maoists between 2015 and 2017. In J&K, 72civilians and 201 security personnel were killed in terror-relatedincidents.

Replying to another question, Ahir said there were 342 incidents ofviolence in Jammu and Kashmir in 2017, in which 80 security personnel werekilled. As many as 213 terrorists were neutralised in the same year, amajor jump over 150 terrorist killings in 2016.

In 2018, the month of January witnessed 28 incidents of violence in Jammuand Kashmir in which four security personnel and eight militants werekilled.

In 2016, there were 322 incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir in which82 security personnel and 150 terrorists were killed.

In a separate question relating to insurgency in the north-eastern states,Ahir said 308 incidents were recorded in 2017, a steady decline from 824incidents in 2014, 574 in 2015 and 484 in 2016.

While civilians killings fell to 37 last year from 87 in 2016, securityforce killings were 12 against 17 in 2016. As many as 57 extremists werekilled in 2017 as compared to 87 in 2016.