386 Indian forces killed in 2017, claims Lashkar
Srinagar: Militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toyiba (LeT) on Saturday said 386 Indian forces personnel were killed in 2017 while the outfit lost its 120 men.
Lashkar spokesperson Dr Abdullah Ghaznavi while revealing the ‘Annual Kashmir Operations Report’ claimed that 386 Indian forces personnel were killed and 442 injured last year in the incidents of clashes and encounters between Indian security forces and “freedom fighters” in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The figures depict the clear picture of the level of successes the freedom fighters achieved and the losses and the humiliation which Indian forces had to face at the hands of LeT’s battle-hardened combatants,” LeT spokesperson said in a statement issued to a local news agency. “These are the ground realities which are not presented by any mainstream media outfit.”
According to the numbers presented by Dr Ghazanavi, “the LeT fighters during the year, in this asymmetrical warfare, applied various guerilla tactics to move forward their ongoing resistance movement against the occupied forces”.
“The tactics included numerous Target Ops, Special Ops, Fidayeen attacks, Ambush attacks, Hit and Run raids and the use of Improvised Explosive Devices. Most of these attacks were launched in Akhnoor, Bandipora, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri and other areas of the valley,” the report said.
“In the aforementioned operations orchestrated by Lashkar militants in 2017, the total numbers of Indian army personnel killed were 386 and about 442 were injured while the total number of martyrs from the freedom fighters was 120,” the LeT report illustrated. “The resistance fighters also got hold over 14 Indian army rifles besides various other items as war booty.”
The spokesperson expressed “profound satisfaction” over the “successes” and paid rich tribute to the slain militants and their families.
He also challenged Indian soldiers for the year 2018 saying, “Our determination is unshakeable because our loss is no loss and in this irregular war between good and evil, in either case of deaths, only oppressor will be at the losing end.”
Dr Ghazanavi said “his soldiers’ morale has always been on the rise and their will and valour to struggle for the freedom of the valley has increased with every passing time”. (GNS)
KV Correspondent
