Sopore attacks: Militants trying revival and survival

As the Kashmir police and the Intelligence Bureau gear up to track down the militants behind the Sopore attacks, the understanding of the pattern behind these strikes is extremely important.

Former militants were targeted recently and prior to that the telecommunication officials and mobile towers were targeted. It clearly signals the frustration of the militants as they are on the verge of being neutralized in Sopore.

Since the past couple of days it has been extensively debated as to who is behind these attacks. While intelligence bureau officials say that it is the Hizbul Mujahideen, the outfit has decided that it would not claim responsibility for the attack. In fact the Hizbul has even spread the word that it is a breakaway faction of theirs' called the Lashkar-e-Islam which is behind these attacks when in reality this outfit is no longer existent.

What is the real game?

The Hizbul Mujahideen finds itself beaten and there have been a series of strikes on their cadres by the Indian forces which has made them relatively weak. If one looks at the pattern behind these strikes, it is clear that they are trying to weaken the sources of the Indian intelligence and army.

The Hizbul wants to ensure that there is no scope for peace and all those attempting it would be targeted. Ahmad Reshi was one of the four persons killed under mysterious circumstances by militants. Reshi was a former member of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and was alleged to have been passing on information to the Intelligence bureau officials.

It has become a cat and mouse game between the militants and the Indian agencies. With the Indian Intelligence agencies and the army getting the better of the militants, they want to send across a strong message in the form of these strikes.

Targeting communication:

The strikes in and around Sopore began with militants targeting mobile towers and telecommunication officials. Now the Kashmir police have ensured that normalcy has been restored and mobile services could function normally.

The militants had a three-pronged strategy in these attacks. They had planted radios on these towers through which they would communicate with their handlers. This was discovered by the police and brought down which led to anger among these militants as a result of which the towers were targeted.

The second agenda was to ensure that all mobile communication was cut off so that it could create a great deal of trouble for the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. The militants have always looked to target the Yatra.

Lastly they wanted to ensure that none of the communication devices work as it would become extremely difficult for security agencies to communicate.

The lack of communication would ensure that the militants are able to work freely without vital information being picked up by the security agencies.