United Jihad in Kashmir is a sign of desperation by terror groups

The killing of six terrorists in a single day while they were trying to infiltrate could be considered as a major success for the security agencies guarding the Indian border. The infiltration bid was the fourth since May 16, when the Indian government announced a unilateral ceasefire due to the holy month of Ramazan.

The Intelligence Bureau has issued several warnings in recent times about the build up of terrorists across the border. As per an estimate there are nearly 200 of them waiting to cross over and set up shop in Kashmir.

An officer tells OneIndia that the terrorists waiting to infiltrate belong to the three major outfits-Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad. They have been working in tandem for long as they have a common cause. Moreover they feel that if they work together they would be a stronger force.

The modus-operandi of working together was chalked out as early as July 2017 itself. While it did not materialise at that time, the plan was hatched once again in February 2018. The three groups divided the tasks among themselves so that there was no over-lapping or confusion.

The Hizbul Mujahideen was tasked with logistics while the Lashkar was told to carry out attacks on convoys. The Jaish on the other hand would continue to target the Army bases as it has being doing in the past.

The coming together of these outfits is seen more as a sign of desperation says an Intelligence Bureau official. They have been weakened to a great extent thanks to the Army offensive. Moreover the forces are working in tandem with the Jammu and Kashmir police which has very often provided concrete information.

The first signs of a joint venture by these groups was noticed in July last year. They began training under one roof. The training camps had been set up in Deosai Park at Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The three terrorist groups decided to come together as one entity in a bid to pool in resources. They feel if all three groups operate together then it would be a stronger force. Moreover they felt the need to be stronger as the Indian Army is in a clean up mode after the centre gave them a free hand.

It may be recalled that Lt. General D Anbu, the GOC, Northern Command had said that the three terror groups in the Kashmir Valley are hand in glove with each other. He said that there is no difference between the three groups and they jumping from one tanzim to another.

Officials say that these are signs of desperation as they have lost a good number of their men in recent times. It is also a way of keeping the flock together after plenty of confusion was created in the United Jihad Council. There has been a rift in the council which is headed by Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. Many within the group wanted him out as his group had stopped being effective.

However the ISI stepped in and tried to broker peace. For now Salahuddin would remain the chief and the Hizbul Mujahideen has been asked to work in tandem with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish.