Twenty-eight persons, comprising both civilians and security personnel, have been killed in militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir this year till July 21, the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Fourteen of those killed were civilians while 14 were security personnel, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in a written reply to Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pradeep Kumar Singh. The figures include those killed in attacks carried out by militants as well as those killed in gunfights between militants and security forces.

In comparison, 14 civilians were killed due to militancy in the whole of 2023, while 30 security personnel were killed in the same period. In 2018, militancy-related incidents left 91 members of security forces and 55 civilians dead, according to the home ministry.

Rai cited these figures to claim that the number of incidents of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir had declined over the past five years. The minister said that the government’s strategy to tackle militancy entailed cracking down on terror financing, preventing infiltration and dismantling the “terror ecosystem”, among other measures.

However, the Centre’s statement comes amidst a spike in militant violence in the Jammu region of the Union territory.

On June 9, nine persons were killed and 41 were injured in the Reasi district when a bus fell into a gorge after being attacked by militants.

At least ten security personnel have been killed in gunfights with militants in the Jammu region since then.