Lashkar-e-Taiba is a terrorist group formed in Pakistan, and a militant and Islamist Salafi jihadist organisation. Described as one of Pakistan's "most powerful jihadi groups", it is most infamous outside Pakistan. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 1985–1986 by Hafiz Saeed, Zafar Iqbal Shehbaz Abdullah Azzam and several other Islamist mujahideen with funding from Osama bin Laden during the Soviet–Afghan War. It has been designated a terrorist group by numerous countries.
The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger geographical region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.
Sonamarg or Sonmarg, known as Sonamarag in Kashmiri, is a hill station located in the Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about 62 kilometers from Ganderbal Town and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of the capital city, Srinagar.
Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir range from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Border Security Personnel (BSF) have been accused of committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians. According to Seema Kazi, militant groups have also been held responsible for similar crimes, but the vast majority of abuses have been perpetrated by the armed forces of the Indian government.
Burhan Wani was the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, an Islamist militant organization and terrorist group of the Kashmir conflict. He had become a popular figure amongst the local Kashmiri populace, having done so primarily through a strong social media presence, and was responsible for moulding the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir into a youth-oriented movement. Wani was a militant leader and had reportedly recruited numerous foot-soldiers through his personal efforts.
The Z-MorhTunnel is a 6.5 km long 2-lane road tunnel between Gagangair and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is named after the Z-shaped stretch of road that the tunnel has replaced. The road used before was avalanche-prone and used to get blocked for several months, but the Z-Morh tunnel provides all-weather connectivity to the Sonamarg tourist town. It takes only 15 minutes to travel the 6.5 km long tunnel compared to hours over the zig-zag road up and down the hills.
Indian Army operations in Jammu and Kashmir include security operations such as Operation Rakshak, which began in 1990, Operation Sarp Vinash in 2003 and Operation Randori Behak in 2020. Other operations include humanitarian missions such as Operation Megh Rahat and operations with a social aim such as Operation Goodwill and Operation Calm Down. The Indian Army works in tandem with the other arms of the Indian Armed Forces and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir such as during Mission Sahayata or joint operations.
On 10 February 2018, at predawn, Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists attacked an Indian Army camp in Sunjuwan, Jammu, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Six soldiers, three attackers and one civilian were killed and 20 injured including 14 soldiers, and five women and children. Notably, this attack coincided with the death anniversary of Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Indian parliament attack. The attack has been described as one of the worst since the 2016 Uri attack. The man described by the Indian Army as the mastermind of the attack, Mufti Waqas, a commander in Jaish-e-Mohammed, was killed in an army operation on 5 March 2018 in south Kashmir's Awantipur.
Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind is an al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist jihadist militant group active in Kashmir. The group's stated objective is to create Kashmir as an independent Islamic state under Sharia law and to fight jihad against Indian administration of Jammu and Kashmir.
Over ground workers (OGWs), according to Indian security forces, are people who help militants, or terrorists, with logistical support, cash, shelter, and other infrastructure with which armed groups and insurgency movements such as Hizbul Mujaheddin and Jaish-e-Muhammad in Jammu and Kashmir can operate. OGWs play a vital role in militant attacks, providing real-time information and support to the tactical elements. Over ground workers have diversified into other roles such as stone-pelting, mob-rioting, ideological support, radicalisation, and recruitment of militants. In 2020, up until 8 June, around 135 over ground workers were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir by the Jammu and Kashmir police. While the term is used and associated extensively with the Kashmir region, the term has also been used officially in other parts of India where insurgency is still active, such as in the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency and in Meghalaya for the Garo National Liberation Army.
Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir encompass the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, tri-service units such as the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), and paramilitary organisations of the Central Armed Police Forces such as the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Each three wings of India's military have their special forces deployed in the region including Indian Army's Para SF, the Indian Navy MARCOS and the Indian Air Force's Garud Commando Force. Apart from this, there is the elite police anti-insurgency force in the region, the Special Operations Group, of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Abdul Hamid Bhatt was a commander in the Islamist militant organisation Hizbul Mujaheddin. He was killed in an encounter on 13 March 2000 by Indian security forces. Hamid Gada, at the time of his death, was the most wanted North Kashmiri militant. He had been called "Jammu and Kashmir's most important terrorist leader" by Indian journalist Praveen Swami, responsible for the massacres of numerous Kashmiri Hindus, including the 1998 Wandhama massacre. Press Trust of India said that in total, over a period of ten years of militancy, he was responsible for killing over a hundred civilians.
The People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) is a militant terrorist organization actively engaged in insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, an ongoing armed conflict between Kashmiri separatist militants and Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir. PAFF was established in 2020 by Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba, two Pakistan-based Jihadist groups.
The 2023 Rajouri attacks occurred on 1 and 2 January 2023, respectively at the Dangri village of Rajouri district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The first attack, a shooting, resulted in the death of four and injured nine others. In the second attack, an IED exploded near the same attack site, resulting in the death of a child at the scene and injuring five others. A second child injured in that blast died from injuries, raising the overall death toll to six.
On 13 September 2023, a confrontation erupted between Indian security forces and Kashmiri separatist militants in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The week-long encounter in the Gadol forests in the Anantnag district ended on 19 September, in which The Resistance Front commander, Uzair Khan was killed along with at least two senior Indian Army officers and a J&K Police officer. After losing 4 security forces personnel on the first day, Indian security forces were finally able to clear the militant hideout on the 7th day of the operation, as the dense jungles and rough terrain of the area provided cover to the militants.
The Resistance Front (TRF) is a militant organisation actively engaged in Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, and designated as a terrorist organisation in India. Indian government and other experts believe that the organisation was founded by and is an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Jihadist terrorist group. The group is responsible for attacks on and killings of civilians, including those belonging to religious minority communities such as Kashmiri Hindus government employees, labourers and business owners, local politicians, and tourists, as well as for several attacks on Indian security forces including local policemen.
Basit Ahmed Dar was a Kashmiri separatist militant commander. He was the Chief Operational Commander of The Resistance Front (TRF) following the assassination of TRF Commander Muhammad Abbas Sheikh in August 2021. He was one of the most wanted militants in the Kashmir valley with a reward of one million INR on his head. He was killed by Indian Security Forces on 7 May 2024, in an encounter in the Kulgam district of Kashmir.
The 2024 Reasi attack was a militant attack that occurred on 9 June 2024 in the Reasi district of the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Several unidentified militants opened fire on a passenger bus transporting Hindu pilgrims from the Shiv Khori cave to Katra, causing it to lose control and plummet into a deep gorge, followed by further firing at the crashed bus by the gunmen. Nine people were killed in the attack, and an additional 41 were injured.
The 2024 Baramulla attack was a militant assault carried out by members of the People's Anti-Fascist Front in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, on the night of 24 October 2024. The attackers targeted an Indian Army convoy in the Boota Pathri area near the Line of Control. During the initial attack, a civilian porter was killed, and four soldiers were injured.
The 2024 Bandipora attack occurred on 1 November 2024 when suspected militants opened fire at an Indian Army camp located in Bilal Colony, along the Bandipora-Panhaar Road in Bandipora district, Jammu and Kashmir. The attack reportedly involved a brief exchange of gunfire, during which seven Indian paramilitary soldiers were allegedly killed, though no official confirmation has been provided.
The Resistance Front 