SRINAGAR - A dismal tally shows that attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have grown in the first six months of the year, as compared to last year.
A total of 69 security personnel have been killed in 170 attacks between January and June in the restive state, compared to the 95 killed in the whole of 2018.
And according to intelligence sources, around 300 militants are currently active in the state and thus security has been beefed up for July, when the pilgrimage to Amarnath begins.
In June 2019, one of the bloodiest months in the valley, 11 security personnel and officers were martyred.
There were 17 acts of terror in 18 days, according to an internal note circulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Security forces neutralised 16 militants in the sixth month of the year, including Sajjad Bhat, a Jaish-e-Mohammed commander believed to be the last surviving attacker behind the Pulwama attacks.