Srinagar: A policeman was killed in a terrorist attack in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district today, July 22. Security forces have begun a massive search operation in the area in response.The attack took place around 12.30 pm near Lal Chowk, a commercial hub, on the Anantnag-Kokernag road. The policeman, according to officials, had been deployed there for security during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage.According to police officials, attackers opened fire at police, critically injuring Head Constable Aashiq Hussain Qureshi. Qureshi was immediately rushed to the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital in Anantnag, where doctors declared him dead.Some local media reports say that the Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a proxy outfit of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), has claimed responsibility for the attack through a social media post.Soon after the attack, police, the Army and paramilitary forces launched a joint cordon-and-search operation in the area. Additional security reinforcements were rushed to Anantnag, which had already been under heightened security due to the Amarnath Yatra, police officials said.The Yatra has been suspended for the last four days due to bad weather across Jammu and Kashmir.Lieutenant General Manoj Sinha posted on X, condemning the attack and promising justice. He wrote:“I spoke with DGP Shri Nalin Prabhat to review the situation following the terror attack in Anantnag. My heartfelt condolences to the family of Head Constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, who sacrificed his life in the line of duty. The whole country stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the family of martyr. I strongly condemn this cowardly attack. This heinous act will not go unpunished. J&K Police and our security forces are on the ground and will bring those responsible to justice.”Kashmir police have, meanwhile, cautioned against the use of a video doing the rounds purporting to show CCTV footage of the attack. The video has now been deleted by the Facebook page it was on.The attack comes at a time when security agencies reported a significant drop in local militant recruitment in Kashmir. Official data said that local recruitment dropped to single digits in 2023 and 2024, with only one local recruit recorded till February of 2025, the lowest levels since 2011-12, The Hindu had reported in early 2025.The decline marks a sharp reversal from the surge witnessed between 2013 and 2016, a period that security officials attribute to multiple factors, including the execution of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013 and the emergence of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, whose killing in 2016 further intensified local militancy.Between 2019 and 2024, around 1,050 militants were killed in nearly 700 militancy-related incidents across Jammu and Kashmir. The period began with the February 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel and was followed later that year by the Union government’s decision to revoke the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370.According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Jammu and Kashmir recorded at least 92 conflict-related killings in 2025, including 42 deaths after the Pahalgam terror attack. Of the total, 46 were militants, with 32 killed between May and December.In contrast, the first six months of 2026 have witnessed relatively lower incidents of violence, with 12 conflict-related deaths recorded, including 10 militants, most of whom were killed while attempting to move across the Line of Control from Pakistan. Notably, May, traditionally a period of increased militant activity after mountain passes reopen, passed without a single terror attack.Despite few local youth joining militant groups, attacks have continued because Pakistan-based outfits, including LeT and TRF are relying more attackers who enter from across the border.Even as violence has declined in the Kashmir Valley, there has been a gradual geographical shift in militant activity towards the Jammu division. Increased security measures in the Valley following the constitutional changes of 2019 have forced militant groups to alter their operational strategy.Several districts in Jammu, located along the Line of Control, have historically served as routes for terrorists entering the Valley. However, the region has increasingly emerged as a theatre of conflict in its own right. More than 60% of militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir was reported from the Jammu division in 2025, compared with just 5%.