A Guide to Militant Groups in Kashmir

bengalraider

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A Guide to Militant Groups in Kashmir
Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 5February 4, 2010 01:30 PM Age: 7 daysCategory: Terrorism Monitor, Global Terrorism Analysis, Home Page, Military/Security, Terrorism, South Asia By: Arif Jamal



The scene outside of the Punjab Hotel, Srinagar
After a few years of relative calm, militancy is slowly but surely resurfacing in the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir. In a smaller-scale repeat of Mumbai, two terrorists occupied the Punjab Hotel in downtown Srinagar on January 6. They remained held up there for nearly 24 hours before police commandos killed them. However, the terrorists succeeded in setting the hotel on fire before the holdup came to an end. As in Mumbai, the terrorists took orders from handlers in Pakistan who used five different cell-phone numbers. Their handlers had already used two of these numbers to guide the attackers in Mumbai (The Hindu, January 10). Police later said that one terrorist was from Kashmir and the other from Pakistan and pointed an accusing finger at the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the same group responsible for Mumbai. However, a little-known group, Jamiat ul-Mujahideen, later claimed responsibility for the holdup (AFP, January 8).

Over 150 Islamist groups

In the early days of jihad in Kashmir, between 1988 and 1990, more than 150 groups surfaced on the jihadist scene. Some of these groups united to form bigger groups such as Hizb ul-Mujahideen, but most of them simply disappeared. Some of those which still exist are mere shadows of their past and have very few followers. None except the Hizb ul-Mujahideen have the capability of carrying out militant operations inside Indian-administered Kashmir on their own. Some of these groups collaborate occasionally with Pakistani groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba to justify their existence.

Hizbul Mujahideen

From its start in October 1989, Hizb ul-Mujahideen started gaining strength as it became the armed wing of not only the Jamaat-i-Islami of Jammu and Kashmir but also of the Jamaat-i-Islami of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir (“Free Kashmir,” i.e. Pakistani controlled Kashmir). The Jamaat-i-Islami of Jammu and Kashmir elevated minor politician Mohammed Yusuf Shah, (a.k.a. Salahuddin, after the mediaeval Muslim general Salah al-Din) to the rank of supreme commander of the Hizb ul-Mujahideen. [1] Yusuf Shah cleansed the movement of everybody who did not agree with the ideology of the Jamaat-i-Islami or posed a threat to his personal leadership. In its early years, Hizb ul-Mujahideen boasted as many as 10,000 jihadist fighters, but currently the number of its members is barely in the hundreds. In the last 20 years, the Jamaat-i-Islami of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir had tens of thousands of young men trained in jihad in Kashmir. They are mostly waiting in the wings as sleeper cells. [2]

Ansar ul-Islam and Jamiat ul-Mujahideen

Jamiat ul-Mujahideen traces its roots back to the now forgotten Ansar ul-Islam (Helpers of Islam), a small group of Islamists active in Kashmir since the mid-1980s. Ansar ul-Islam was the first important Islamist group to emerge in Kashmir and helped turn the secular liberation struggle by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front into an Islamist jihad. Ansarul Islam was founded by Hilal Ahmed Mir (a.k.a. Nasir ul-Islam). Hilal Ahmed Mir dreamed of unifying the Islamists in Kashmir under one umbrella as Islam ka fouji bazu (the armed wing of Islam). [3] He was opposed to the intention of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to turn the group into the armed wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, the Islamist political party founded by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. In 1989, a dozen jihadist groups united to form Hizb ul-Mujahideen, but the struggle continued between the group led by Hilal Ahmed Mir and the faction led by Master Ahsan Dar, a veteran jihadi from North Kashmir who wanted to turn the new group into the armed wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami. The ISI supported the latter and Hilal Ahmed Mir left Hizb ul-Mujahideen to form Jamiat ul-Mujahideen in June 1991. After the death of Hilal Ahmed Mir, Ghulam Rasool Shah (a.k.a. General Abdullah) became the amir of the Jamiat ul-Mujahideen. Today, the group does not have more than a few dozen followers.

Sectarian Jihadist Groups

The foremost goal of most of the Kashmiri youth who took up arms was to oppose what they called “Indian occupation.” However, there were two important sectarian groups: the Shi’a Hizbul Momineen and the Salafist Tehrik ul-Mujahideen. Apart from the Hizb ul-Mujahideen, the ISI allowed only the Tehrik ul-Mujahideen from Indian-administered Kashmir (led by Maulana Jamilur Rehman) to set up its own training camps. The most important of these, Ma’askar (camp) Abdullah bin Mubarak, was set up outside of Mansehra district. Although the Tehrik ul-Mujahideen attracted very few Kashmiris, it trained thousands of young Pakistani recruits from the Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith (an Islamist political party) at its training camp. The Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith (Assembly of the Way of the Followers) adopted Tehrik ul-Mujahideen as its armed wing in the late 1990s.

In the early days of the Kashmir jihad, Maulana Abbass Ansari, who heads the Shi’a political party Ittehad ul-Muslimeen, set up a Shi’a militant group under the command of Mir Tahir. [4] Under the influence of Saudi Arabia, the ISI discouraged Shi’a Muslims from joining the jihad in both Afghanistan and Kashmir. Maulana Abbass Ansari has a vast following among the Shi’a of Kashmir and was deemed particularly unacceptable by the ISI. Consequently, the Shi’a militants had to wind up their jihadi infrastructure and join the political field in the early 1990s. At the same time, the ISI encouraged a rival Shi’a group, Hizb ul-Momineen. Hizbul Momineen accepted only Shi’a recruits. The first commander of the Hizb ul-Momineen, Shuja Abbas, developed differences with the ISI in the late 1990s and had to quit. Now led by Syed Ijaz, Hizb ul-Momineen has engaged in little militant activity in recent years. The most important role of the Hizb ul-Momineen has been to save the Kashmir jihad from drifting into Shi’a-Sunni sectarian conflict when the ISI asked the movement to claim responsibility for the assassination of pro-Indian Shiites who were actually being killed by Sunni jihadis. This was done to prevent India from stirring sectarian tensions by claiming that Sunnis were killing Shi’a in Kashmir.

Harakat ul-Jihad al-Islami and its Deobandi Offshoots

The Harakat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), a Deobandi group of Afghan jihad veterans led by Qari “Saifullah” Akhtar, was the first external group to join the jihad in Kashmir, though its role was initially limited. By 1993, the Kashmiri groups, including Hizb ul-Mujahideen, started showing weakness. The Indian army’s strategy of crushing the militancy by punishing militants’ families worked to a great extent and neutralized a large number of the Kashmiri militants. This is when the ISI started pushing Pakistani militants into the Kashmir theatre of jihad. A group calling itself Harakat ul-Mujahideen under the leadership of Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil split from HuJI in 1991. As Kashmir opened up for the Pakistani and international mujahideen, the HuJI groups reunited under the name of Harkat ul-Ansar, under the leadership of Maulana Saadatullah. Harakat ul-Ansar pushed as many mujahideen as possible from Pakistan and other Muslim countries to Kashmir and became the principal player on the jihadi scene. It raised its profile by launching several high-profile operations such as Operation Charar Sharif, Operation al-Hadid and Operation al-Faran. The latter two targeted Western nationals and brought Harakat ul-Ansar onto the center stage of international jihad in 1994. It split once more into its former groups under Western pressure.

Jaish-i-Mohammad

Harakat ul-Mujahideen, itself a splinter group of HuJI, split again in 2000 when Maulana Masood Azhar formed the Jaish-i-Mohammad (Army of Mohammad). Some of the Harakat ul-Mujahideen militants hijacked an Indian aircraft on the eve of Christmas and took it to Qandahar in Afghanistan. They released the passengers only when India released three top militants from Indian jails. One of them was Maulana Masood Azhar, an ideologue of Harakat ul-Mujahideen. Instead of rejoining his parent group, Maulana Masood Azhar formed his own group, Jaish-i-Mohammad, in February 2000. Jaish-i-Mohammad drew cadres from all the Deobandi groups, particularly from the Harakat ul-Mujahideen and Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. It was a great victory for Maulana Masood Azhar to win over Maulana Abdul Jabbar, who was sent to Afghanistan to run the Jaish-i-Mohammad training camp near Kabul. He was also the bridge between the Jaish-i-Mohammad and al-Qaeda.

9/11 and the Deobandi Jihadist Groups

The U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan and the fall of the Taliban in 2001 jolted the Deobandi groups. Consequently, the Deobandi jihadist groups scaled down their operations in Kashmir and focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although the level of Deobandi terrorism is likely to rise in the coming months and years in Pakistan, they are not likely to take power. The fate of Afghanistan is more likely to determine the fate of the Deobandis in Pakistan. If the U.S.-led coalition withdraws from Afghanistan without completely weakening the Taliban, the Deobandi groups are likely to come back to power in Kabul. The fall of Kabul would immensely strengthen the Deobandi groups in Pakistan.

Markaz Dawat wal Irshad and Lashkar-e-Taiba

The role that Pakistani Salafists played in the Afghan jihad was very marginal. They worked under Markaz Dawat wa’l-Irshad, an educational and jihadi religious movement headed by Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Their other important leader was Zafar Iqbal (Indian Express, April 27, 2000). [5] Both men taught Islamic studies at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore. When the Afghan anti-Soviet jihad came to an end in 1989, the group boasted less than a hundred members. However, the group received a lot of money from Saudi Arabia (including official sources) and grew rapidly. The Markaz set up Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as its armed wing in 1990 to fight in Kashmir. LeT set up six training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir where it has trained more than 200,000 jihadists making it the largest jihadist group in the world. [6]

The LeT introduced suicide attacks in Kashmir in 1999 for the first time as a result of encouragement from General Pervez Musharraf, who became Chief of the Army Staff in 1998. Other groups copied the tactic, not only in Kashmir but also in Pakistan. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has perfected the practice in recent years.

When the LeT and Jaish-i-Mohammad carried out a joint attack against India’s parliament in December 2001, India brought its forces up to the international border. To avoid another war with India and to pacify international public opinion, General Musharraf banned several Islamist and jihadist groups, including the Markaz Dawat wa’l-Irshad and Lashkar-e-Taiba in January 2002. However, Markaz Dawat wa’l-Irshad was allowed to change its name in December 2001 before the ban was imposed and continued to function with impunity. Hafiz Saeed announced that Markaz Dawat wa’l-Irshad had been dissolved, with its members divided between Jamaat ul-Dawah and the LeT. Jamaat ul-Dawah was to henceforth focus on dawaat (preaching) while the LeT focused on jihad in Kashmir. Hafiz Saeed claimed that the two groups were independent of each other, with Jamaat ul-Dawah to be headed by Hafiz Saeed and the LeT by one of his top lieutenants, Maulana Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. [7] However, the links between the two were never broken and they kept working together. Both groups provided relief in the aftermath of the earthquake in Kashmir in 2005 in full public view (as witnessed by the author).

The Mumbai Attacks and Future Prospects

LeT attracted a lot of international attention in November 2008 when it carried out terrorist attacks in Mumbai which targeted Jews and American and European nationals. However, the LeT sent hundreds of its trained recruits into Indian-administered Kashmir during 2009. Heavy infiltration of Indian-administered Kashmir by the LeT has created a lot of tension between the two nuclear neighbors, who occasionally exchange fire along the border.

The Kashmiri jihad has remained a war of liberation for all practical purposes, even for the most extreme groups operating in Indian-administered Kashmir, such as Hizb ul-Mujahideen. There have been few, if any, militants from Indian-administered Kashmir who took part in the global jihad. However, most Pakistani jihadi groups, including those from Pakistani-administered Kashmir, have a global agenda and Kashmir is only their first stop. With the militants from Indian-administered Kashmir retreating and the Pakistani jihadists taking over the center stage, the Kashmir jihad has drifted into global jihad. Kashmir’s two jihads are converging fast.

Arif Jamal is a visiting fellow at the New York University and author of “Shadow War – The Untold Story of Jihad in Kashmir.”

Notes:
1. Author's interview with Master Ahsan Dar, Muzaffarabad, September 10, 2001.
2. Author’s interviews with recruits at the training camps, 1998-2006.
3. Author's interview with Ghulam Rasool Shah, Islamabad, March 9, 2002.
4. Author's interview with Mir Tahir Masood, Islamabad, August 25, 2001
5. Author’s interview with Zafar Iqbal, November 27, 1997.
6. Author’s interviews with recruits at the training camps, 1998-2006.
7. Press Conference by Markaz Dawat wa’l-Irshad leaders in Lahore on December 24, 2001 – Attended by the author.
 

shuvo@y2k10

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no matter how many thousands they recruit -they will be killed like insects as they have always been in the past once they cross the loc by the 7.5 lakh strong indian soldies stationed in kashmir.
 

BangersAndMash

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@Kunal Biswas @Ray @DFI members

Are there any stats that show the ethnicity/nationality of militants in Kashmir? What percentage are pakistanis, Kashmiris, etc?
 
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Kunal Biswas

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Its quite long to post in a single post, So i will put the details in brief ..

1. I will post pictures of different Groups of Pakistani Regular and Irregular personal caught and Shot while infiltrating inside our land.

2. Than i will brief about each group, And will show the difference between these Groups ..

Will be posting some Graphic Picture for educational purposes ..

@Kunal Biswas @Ray @DFI members

Are there any stats that show the ethnicity/nationality of militants in Kashmir? What percentage are pakistanis, Kashmiris, etc?
 
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Kunal Biswas

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We must know about the Major Groups name and there intro >>

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1. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen

Of the terrorist outfits currently operating in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) is the one of the largest, with a cadre base drawn from indigenous and foreign sources. It is one of the most important terrorist outfits in terms of its effectiveness in perpetrating violence across the State at regular intervals. The HM is one of the 32 outfits proscribed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.

Headquartered at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen with an estimated cadre strength of at least 1500, is presently headed by Syed Salahuddin. The patron of HM in PoK is Ghulam Nabi Nausheri.

Ghazi Nasiruddin is the outfit's 'chief commander of operations' in the Kashmir Valley. He succeeded Saif-ul-Islam alias Ghulam Rasool Khan alias 'Engineer' Zaman, who was killed in a major counter-insurgency operation on April 2, 2003, at Nowgam Chowk, on the outskirts of capital Srinagar. Saleem Hashmi is the spokesperson of the outfit.

Currently, the HM is organised into five divisions: central division for Srinagar, northern division for Kupwara-Bandipora-Baramulla, southern division for Anantnag and Pulwama districts, Chenab division for Doda district and Gool in the Udhampur district, and Pir Panjal Division for the Rajouri and Poonch districts.

The HM has its own news agency, Kashmir Press International, and a women's wing, Banat-ul-Islam.

The Hizb reportedly has a substantial support base in the Kashmir Valley and in the Doda, Rajouri, Poonch districts and parts of Udhampur district in the Jammu region.

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2. Lashkar-e-Toiba

Formed in 1990 in the Kunar province of Afghanistan, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (also known as Jama'at-ud-Da'awa) is based in Muridke near Lahore in Pakistan and is headed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.

Its first presence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was recorded in 1993 when 12 Pakistani and Afghan mercenaries infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) in tandem with the Islami Inquilabi Mahaz, a terrorist outfit then active in the Poonch district of J&K.

The outfit's headquarters (200 acres) is located at Muridke, 30 kms from Lahore, which was built with contributions and donations from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being the biggest benefactor.

The headquarters houses a Madrassa (seminary), a hospital, a market, a large residential area for 'scholars' and faculty members, a fish farm and agricultural tracts. The LeT also reportedly operates 16 Islamic institutions, 135 secondary schools, an ambulance service, mobile clinics, blood banks and several seminaries across Pakistan.

LeT publishes its views and opinion through its Website (jamatuddawa.org), an Urdu monthly journal, Al-Dawa, which has a circulation of 80,000, and an Urdu weekly, Gazwa. It also publishes Voice of Islam, an English monthly, and Al-Rabat - monthly in Arabic, Mujala-e-Tulba - Urdu monthly for students, Jehad Times - Urdu Weekly.

Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is the Amir (chief) of Lashkar-e-Toiba. While Yahiya Mujahid serves as the spokesman of the outfit, Maulana Abdul Wahid is one of the senior leaders. Abdullah Muntazer is the 'Spokesman for International Media' and editor of the outfit's Website. Saeed's son Talha reportedly looks after the LeT activity at its base camp in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Saeed's son-in-law, Khalid Waleed, is reportedly part of the LeT office in Lahore.

It comprises cadres mostly from Pakistan and Afghanistan and a sprinkling of militants from Sudan, Bahrain, Central Asia, Turkey and Libya. Funded, armed and trained by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISl, the external intelligence agency of Pakistan), it has presently a little over 750 cadres (this number keeps changing) in Jammu and Kashmir (a vast majority of the foreign mercenaries operating in the Valley).

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3. Harkat-ul-Mujahideen



The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), a Pakistan-based terrorist outfit, has been in existence twice in the history of that country's involvement in cross-border terrorism. In the interim between the two phases, it continued to exist, but under the name of the Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA). While the first renaming was an outcome of a reorganisation effected by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's external intelligence agency, among its various sponsored terrorist outfits in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the second renaming was necessitated by a US proscription of the outfit.

The HuA was categorised as a terrorist outfit by the US in 1997 following reports that it was linked with Osama bin Laden, and his Al Qaeda, a global terrorist network that has struck at several US targets around the world. The outfit immediately adopted the name of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen to escape the ramifications of the proscription. Despite public knowledge that the HuM was a recast version of the HuA, the US had refused to categorise the outfit as a terrorist outfit. However, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in the US, the outfit came under scrutiny of the US government for its extensive links with Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks. On September 25, US President George W. Bush signed an order officially banning the outfit.

The HuM was originally formed in 1985, to participate in the Jehad against Soviet forces protecting the Communist regime in Afghanistan. It was a formed by a group that walked out of another jehadi group, the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). With the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, the outfit turned its attention to J&K, where terrorist violence had been unleashed by Pakistan supported outfits in 1988.

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4. Jaish-e-Mohammed



The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has been held responsible for the December 13, 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi. The outfit has been banned by the Indian government under provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) on October 25, 2001. The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in a notification on December 26, 2001, designated the outfit as a foreign terrorist organistation.

The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a relatively new terrorist outfit, compared to other major outfits active in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the JeM too is an outfit formed, controlled and manned by Pakistan. The outfit was launched on January 31, 2000, by Maulana Masood Azhar in Karachi after he was released from an Indian jail during the terrorists for hostage swap of December 31, 1999, following the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight IC 814.

The formation of the outfit was endorsed by three religious school chiefs, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai of the Majlis-e-Tawan-e-Islami (MT), Maulana Mufti Rashid Ahmed of the Dar-ul Ifta-e-wal-Irshad and Maulana Sher Ali of the Sheikh-ul-Hadith Dar-ul Haqqania.

The outfit's creation can be linked to the popularity surrounding Masood Azhar after his release from India. Maulana Masood Azhar was the general secretary of the newly established Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA) in 1994 and was on a 'mission' in J&K when he was arrested on February 11. When he was released, the HuA had been included in the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations which had compelled the outfit to rename itself as the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). However, Masood Azhar decided to float the new outfit JeM rather than rejoin his old outfit. He was also reported to have received assistance in setting up the JeM from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the then Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and several Sunni sectarian outfits of Pakistan.

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5. Al Badr

The Al Badr, currently an active terrorist outfit in Jammu and Kashmir, was proscribed by the Government of India on April 1, 2002, under the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance-2001, which became the Prevention of Terrorism Act on April 28, 2002. It is also designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in the United States.

The Al Badr is part of the United Jehad Council (UJC), a coalition of Pakistan-based terrorist groups active in Jammu and Kashmir.

It is reported to have training camps in the Manshera area of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan, Kotli and Muzaffarabad in PoK.

It has launched or threatened to launch attacks targeting Indian military installations and prominent government officials in Jammu and Kashmir.

Al Badr cadres are reported to have taken an active part, under the ISI tutelage, in the Kargil intrusion of 1999. The outfit's 'chief commander' Bakht Zameen was reportedly based in Skardu during the intrusion to monitor the movement of his cadres from Pakistan to Skardu and its forward areas.

The outfit, which was defunct for some time towards the end of the 1990s, had, with increasing frequency, begun to claim responsibility for several acts of terrorist violence in J&K during year 2000. Official sources indicated that several terrorists killed in the year 2000 were Al Badr cadres. In one such incident, five terrorists, allegedly part of an Al Badr suicide squad, were killed when troops raided their hideout at Theuru near Ganderbal.

The outfit has opposed the cease-fire on the Line of Control (LoC) declared by India and Pakistan in November 2003. Al Badr has consistently been opposed to any process of dialogue between India and Pakistan. For instance, the outfit's chief Bakht Zameen said in an interview on September 5, 2001, that India was not sincere about holding a dialogue for the amicable settlement of the Kashmir issue. While urging Pakistan to concentrate upon strengthening Jehad instead of "wasting further time seeking a negotiated settlement," he also asked the military regime to refrain from initiating any steps that would undermine the 'freedom movement' in Jammu and Kashmir.

The outfit has also sought to enforce Islamist lifestyles in the areas in which it operates. For instance, reports of August 2003 indicated that the Al Badr ordered women in the rural areas of J&K to quit police jobs, wear veils, give up studies after the age of 14 and not to venture out without a male escort. Posters carrying these diktats were seen pasted on street walls and mosques in the Thannamandi and Darhal areas of Rajouri district. The posters, written in Urdu, warned of unspecified consequences if women failed to comply. Earlier on December 20, 2002, in a major terrorist act against women across Jammu region, terrorists killed three young girls, including two college students, at Hasiot village in Rajouri district. The separate incidents were reportedly carried out by a group of three Pakistani terrorists belonging to the Al Badr led by the outfit's 'area commander' Zubair Gul.

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6. Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen

The Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM) was the first breakaway faction of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) that emerged out of a personality clash between Master Ahsan Dar, the then Chief of the outfit and Hilal Ahmed Mir. Mir, who used the code-name Nasirul Islam opposed the move to transform the Hizb into Jamaat-e-Islami's armed wing. It was formed in 1990 with Sheikh Abdul Basit as its Chief. Its followers are mostly Kashmiris from the Ahle Sunnat (Deoband) school.

In 1991, the outfit was allegedly involved in the killing of Mohammed Sayeed, Joint Director in the Information Department. It is also suspected to have been involved in the killing of H N Wanchoo, a human rights activist in December 1992. The JuI was also reportedly responsible for the Badami Bagh cantonment blast in March 1993 in which 29 persons were killed. The expertise of the outfit is reported to be in carrying out grenade attacks and explosions. A cadre of the Jamait-ul-Mujahideen, who was part of the fidayeen (suicide) squad that infiltrated into the Army battalion headquarters at Beerwah in Budgam district and launched an attack on forces inside the camp on September 12, 2000, was consequently killed in an encounter. With the arrests of a JUM terrorist Muzzafar Mirza and his associates in Srinagar and of Nissar Ahmad Gandroo in Kolkata on January 10, 2001, the police foiled their plans to launch terrorist attacks on the eve of Republic Day. Nine people, including four security force personnel, were killed in an explosion outside the local Army Headquarters at Batwara in Srinagar, on December 25. Although the Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, security forces suspected that the explosion was a joint effort of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and another terrorist outfit, the Al-Umar.

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7. Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami

The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) is a Pakistan-based terrorist group with an affiliate in Bangladesh. While the exact formation date of the group is not known, its origin is traced to the Soviet-Afghan war.

Incidents 2012 :

December 30: HuJI and HM have joined hands to generate fear among Kashmiris. The report said that the posters put up in the Jammu region by these two outfits have warned the locals from providing information to Security Forces. It also issued a threat to companies involved in railway construction work. The posters also reiterate the threat to panches (members of Gram Panchayat, village level local self Government institution) and sarpanches (heads of Gram Panchayat) to stop participating in the democratic process or face dire consequences.

December 20: The serial blasts in the courts of Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi, according to ATS, were jointly carried out by HuJI and IM. ATS has also named seven Azamgarh-based alleged IM operatives.

Mizanur Rahaman alias Shahjahan alias Bablu, a HuJI operative who was allegedly involved in the abduction of Khadim owner Partha Pratim Roy Burman and was absconding for 11 years, has been arrested up by the STF of Kolkata Police from Princep Ghat in Kolkata.

December 5: Drawing its cadres from LeT, JeM and HM, terrorist outfit HuA is resuming operations under a new name of Jabbar-ul-Mujahideen. HuA was formed by the merger of two Pakistani militant outfits, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

November 27: Replying to a question, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs R. P. N Singh told Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that various terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Indian Mujahideen (IM) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) are engaged in terrorist activities in the country. "As per available information, militants/terrorists active in India are often supported by their parent outfits based abroad, particularly in Pakistan," he said. Singh said other terrorist outfits which are active in India include Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Al-Umma, Al Badr, Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami (HuJI), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).

November 14: The Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice against HuJI operative Mohammed Abdul Majeed. The hopes of Indian intelligence agencies to get him deported from Saudi Arabia have also brightened following this.

November 4: Syed Thanjim allegedly links to terror outfits LeT and HuJI has been arrested by Bangalore City (Karnataka) Crime Branch team. He was a close associate of Shoaib Ahmad Mirza alias Chotu who was arrested on August 29, 2012.

April 29: SFs have once again stepped up searches for three most wanted militants in Kishtwar District, who remained elusive even after more than seven months of being declared as wanted in a powerful blast outside Delhi High Court on September 7, 2011. The three militants, identified as Shakeer Ahmed alias Chotta Haafiz, Aamir Kamal alias Kamran and Junaid Akram Malik, all residents of Kishtwar, are wanted by the NIA and carry head money of INR 1 million each. Another militant, Mohammad Shaffi, who was being searched in upper reaches of Kishtwar though not being involved in Delhi blast, was reportedly accompanying the wanted trio, sources said.

March 30: SOG in numerous operations spread over 2011, confiscated FICN worth INR 10 million in Ahmedabad city. Gujarat ATS Chief Manoj Shashidharan said HuJI was responsible for channeling FICN into Gujarat from Bangladesh.

March 29: Police re-arrested two HuJI militants from Ansi Top and Harddon Top forest areas of Assar in Doda District. These two had managed to escape near Patnitop (Udhampur District) on March 28 evening, while they were being taken back to Udhampur Jail after attending the Trial Court at Kishtwar. The two militants are, self-styled divisional commander of HuJI for Kishtwar area Dullah Bakerwal alias Sher Khan and Jameel Abass alias Abdulla Bakerwal.

March 28: Two militants, including a 'divisional commander' of HuJI, Sher Khan, escaped from Police custody at Patnitop-Batote road on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway when they were being taken back to District Jail in Udhampur after their court attendance in Kishtwar District.

March 22: Indian militant groups are using a video of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for recruiting, said intelligence sources. Both HuJI and HM are using the video, said intelligence officials.

Major Haroon Ashiq, a former Pakistan Army commando who became a key al Qaeda operative and an accused in several murder cases and abductions is all set to walk free from his Rawalpindi prison cell after being acquitted by Anti-Terrorism Court in a murder case, with witnesses withdrawing their testimony in fear of reprisals.

March 7: Al Qaeda's main operational commander and the chief of the HuJI, Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, who was reportedly killed on June 3, 2011 in a US drone attack in South Waziristan Agency of FATA, was spotted in North Waziristan Agency recently, referring to reliable sources.

February 23: interrogation of arrested IM militant Mohammed Qafeel Ahmed has confirmed that the vast network of banned outfit SIMI is now being used by IM. Qafeel disclosed that IM has no dearth of funds as the terror outfit continues to get substantial amounts of money through the hawala route from Pakistan. He further revealed that Yasin Bhatkal is extremely secretive about his functioning and that he has the capacity to carry out Delhi 13/2 type terror strikes. In fact, Qafeel even told investigators that the possibility of Bhatkal's involvement in the attack on the Israeli diplomat in New Delhi is even higher as he is closely associated with both the LeT and the HUJI. Qafeel was arrested on February 21 in Darbhanga, Bihar and is under the custody of Delhi Police.

February 20: India is likely to seek the extradition of Pakistani-American militant David Coleman Headley and his Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Hussain. "We will write to the US with reference of the court order. New Delhi will highlight that the charge sheet against Headley and Rana is not restricted to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case alone. It also covers the offences which do not come under the 12 counts on which he had pleaded guilty and entered into the plea bargaining," a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official said.

Under the plea-bargaining arrangement, Headley had become prosecution witness in the trial against Rana, who was acquitted by a US court in the 26/11 case but indicted for his role in a terror plot against Denmark. Both are currently in jail in Chicago. "Rana may be acquitted in the Mumbai attack case, but he is an accused here in the case which pertains to a criminal conspiracy with LeT [Lashkar-e-Toiba] and HuJI [Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami] terrorists to carry out attacks in New Delhi and other places in India," said the official.

February 16: Intelligence agencies are concentrating on two particular incoming phone calls that were made to a cell phone in New Delhi using a satellite phone from the Cox Bazaar area in Bangladesh. While one of the calls was made on the day of the incident (February 13), the second call was made earlier on February 5. Sources said, that the satellite number, from which the two calls originated belongs to a HuJI operative who has been on the radar of the intelligence agencies for some time now. The suspect plays the role of a coordinator between various terror outfits like HuJI, LeT and the IM. Investigating agencies, thus, are not ruling out the possibility of an IM hand in the terror strike.

February 13: Members of RAB arrested an alleged operative of banned outfit HuJI from Pabahati village in Sadar sub-district of Jhenidah District. The arrestee, Shaheen Mahmud (46) is a Khulna regional leader of the outfit. The RAB members seized 20 books on jihad, 13 leaflets, a foreign ID card and a passport from his possession. The arrestee was involved in serial bomb explosions on 21 August.

January 23: The life sentences awarded to six HuJI cadres, including three Pakistani, by a trial court for plotting to abduct cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly in 2002, were reduced to eight years each by the Delhi High Court.

-------------------------------------

8. Al Umar Mujahideen

Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar formed the Al Umar Mujahideen in December 1989, with a membership primarily drawn from recruits in downtown Srinagar, capital city of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The formation of Al Umar Mujahideen is traced to the differences that had emerged within the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Zargar floated the AuM with the tacit endorsement of Srinagar-based cleric Maulvi Umar Farooq, after whom the outfit was named.

Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar alias Latram was one of the three terrorists released on December 31, 1999, by the Indian Government in exchange for the passengers of the hijacked aircraft IC 814 at Kandahar in Afghanistan. Zargar has since then been based in Pakistan.

The Al Umar Mujahideen is a proscribed organisation under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.


Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar formed the Al Umar Mujahideen in December 1989, with a membership primarily drawn from recruits in downtown Srinagar, capital city of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The formation of Al Umar Mujahideen is traced to the differences that had emerged within the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). Zargar floated the AuM with the tacit endorsement of Srinagar-based cleric Maulvi Umar Farooq, after whom the outfit was named.

Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar alias Latram was one of the three terrorists released on December 31, 1999, by the Indian Government in exchange for the passengers of the hijacked aircraft IC 814 at Kandahar in Afghanistan. Zargar has since then been based in Pakistan.

The Al Umar Mujahideen is a proscribed organisation under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.

Objectives

The AuM aims to liberate the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir through an armed struggle and merge it with Pakistan.

Leadership, Command Structure and Cadre

Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar is the 'chief commander' of Al Umar Mujahideen. With the help of Zahoor Sheikh, an Anantnag-based activist of the secessionist People's League, Zargar crossed over to Pakistan through Trehgam and received training at a camp organised by the JKLF in August 1988. Subsequently, he went to Pakistan for a second round of training during May 1989 and returned through Uri. Later, Zargar is reported to have executed several attacks on security force personnel and a series of murders of the Kashmiri Pandits (descendants of Brahman priests). Zargar, who is responsible for over 40 murders and was a key figure in the terrorist ascendancy in downtown Srinagar, was arrested on May 15, 1992.

Manzoor Ahmad Ganai is reportedly the 'chief commander and organiser of training'. Latif-ul-Haq who is the 'acting chief commander' and Jamshed Khan, the 'deputy chief commander' are among the other important leaders of the outfit.

Shabir Ahmad Zargar, who was reportedly chief of the Al Umar Commando Force, a striking wing of the AuM and a close confidant of Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, was arrested by the Border Security Force in Srinagar on October 2, 2002.

The AuM has a two-tier structure: The supreme command and field formations. The former consists of a 'chief commander', two 'deputy chief commanders', 'military adviser', 'publicity chief', and 'intelligence chief' and the latter consists of 'district commanders' and 'regimental commanders'.

Apart from the Syed Salahuddin-led Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al Umar Mujahideen is the only other terrorist group, which is led by a Kashmir Valley-based terrorist.

The outfit reportedly has a strength of 700 cadres.

In the early phase of terrorist violence in J&K during the 1980s, the Pakistani external intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) perceived the AuM as an instrument through which the ascendancy of the JKLF, which had favoured independence for Kashmir could be challenged.

Apart from attacks on civilians and security forces, Zargar also indulged in extortion and used his 'influence' to intervene in local business and property disputes in Srinagar. At least seven abductions for ransom are reportedly attributed to him. In one instance, Zargar reportedly ordered a ban on the use of Maruti vehicles in Srinagar in order to help a Srinagar businessman who held the dealership for a rival motor company.

On the eve of Legislative Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir during September-October 2002, the ISI reportedly appointed Mushtaq Zargar, AuM chief, as the 'chief coordinator' to carry out attacks on candidates and political parties. It has been reportedly working in tandem with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and guides the organisation in J&K.

-----------------------------------------

9. Dukhtaraan-e-Millat

An all-woman outfit, the Dukhtaraan-e-Millat (DeM) can be categorized as a soft-terrorist outfit in the sense that it uses extra-legal means including threats to impose its doctrines but has not taken to arms so far. The outfit, formed in 1987 has claimed that the Kashmir issue is primarily a religious issue and jehad is mandatory. It also supports the accession of the Kashmir valley with Pakistan. The DeM primarily operates in the Kashmir valley and its present strength is reported to be approximately 350.

The outfit has grabbed attention in spurts due to controversial remarks made by its leader, Ayesha Andrabi, particularly in the context of developments since year 2000. Of late, Ayesha Andrabi has been very vocal in supporting a new outfit named Lashkar-e-Jabbar (LeJ). This outfit has come into the news after its activists reportedly threw acid on two women in Srinagar on August 7 on the grounds that they were not dressed in 'Islamic' style. The Lashkar-e-Jabbar had first announced, that it would begin to use violence against Kashmir Muslims who were not dressed in their version of 'Islamic Dress Codes'.

Incidents 2012:

January 3: The LeT is raising a group of 21 female terrorists at its training camps in PoK for carrying out sabotage activities in India, Army sources said, "We have confirmed reports that LeT is imparting training to 21 selected female terrorists at its training facilities in Muzaffarabad in PoK for carrying out terrorist activities in India," an unnamed Army official said in New Delhi.

Army said the new group, named as Dukhtareen-e-Toiba, is planned to be made active in the Kashmir Valley by the LeT. The women terrorists are planned to be infiltrated into India through routes in Uri sector or using the aerial route through some other country.

DNA quoted sources as saying, "Inputs reveal that 21 girls are being trained by LeT at Divalia, Muzzafarabad, under the name of Dukhtaran-e-Toiba." The group, after training, have been placed under the command of an LeT 'commander', Sayeed Sadaqat Hussain, for future deployment in Kashmir, the sources added.

Intercepts indicate that the new front is being activated since the earlier formation of women DeM led by Asiya Andrabi has not been successful in mobilising people as it had in the past. According to reports, the sources said, the effort is to try and infiltrate these trained cadres into India either through the Uri sector or even Nepal.

Another training camp, according to other information, is located at Turbeladem in PoK in which over 400 terrorists in various groups are being trained and that the facility is being commanded by a senior officer of ISI. The sources said the ISI asked the LeT and other terror groups to carry out attacks against the Indian troops deployed on the LoC. These groups, the reports said, carried out reconnaissance in areas on the other side of the LoC facing the Indian forward defence locations.

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Kunal Biswas

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GRAPHIC >>

==============>>

There are terrorists groups above have direct linkage with Pakistani forces and trained by them, It is important to know how terrorist looks like and can be identify with other forces >>

Closely look at the Gear and outfit and do read what board says behind dead tangos >>

















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Kunal Biswas

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These few Images describers the mix outfit`s basic dress code >>

A. Salwar Kameez in Majority
B. Cheap home made Chest rig mostly in Oilve green or camo, But its uniquely found only on Kashmiri terrorists.
C. Sport shoe or Military boots.
D. A Jacket in camo or normal.
E. AK is main firearm
F. Radio set.
G. M61 Grenades generally found in Pakistan Army.
Terrorist use full camo Salwar kameez or pant and shirt, based on availability.

For Comparison >>




^^ Above Photo shows both mercenary and domestic terrorist wear what is mentioned above..



^^ Above photo where shown terrorist in camo, This depends how well a group is funded and availability of the garments and some time camo clothing are used for only PR purpose..
 

Ray

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@Kunal Biswas @Ray @DFI members

Are there any stats that show the ethnicity/nationality of militants in Kashmir? What percentage are pakistanis, Kashmiris, etc?
I can generally state regarding the state of the situation out there.

The locals who are active in terror activities are a handful. Most who are not active are used in logistic support role - organising safe havens, food and other supplies, information regarding the activities of the SF, acting as messengers and conduit between the terrorists who have infiltrated and their supporters who are over ground but 'invisible' to the authorities.

The Bakarwals and Gujjars of Kashmir, who take their sheep and cattle to the heights during summer and are well conversant with the trails, nooks and cranny of the high mountains, are used by the terrorists as guides for infiltration.

The vast majority of the terrorists who infiltrate and operate in Kashmir are Pakistanis and a for a good measure are those who have operated in Afghanistan for the Islamic hordes, to include Uzbeks, Afghans and so on.
 
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BangersAndMash

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I think I've read somewhere (probably on a forum) that Kashmiris make up at most only 1% of militants and the vast majority of terrorists are pakistani punjabis!
 

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