Due to the violence in J&K, the Election Commission had to postpone assembly elections which were expected to be held simultaneously with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. (Photo: Reuters file)

Security forces have killed 733 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir since 2016. Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy revealed these numbers in the Lok Sabha today.

The minister informed the House that this year alone, 113 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir as on June 16.

Besides the 113 terrorists, 18 civilians were also killed in the state.

Meanwhile, terror-related incidents in J&K have tripled since 2014. According to the home ministry, in 2014, there were 222 terror related incidents in the state but by 2018 this increased to 614.

According to the government, the year 2018 saw the most number of killings in Jammu and Kashmir as security forces killed 257 terrorists. This was followed by killing of 213 terrorists in 2017 and 150 in 2016.

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Jammu and Kashmir continues to be tense in recent times. On February 14, 40 CRPF jawans were killed when an IED-laden SUV rammed into a CRPF bus near Pulwama. This was the deadliest terror attack in J&K in the past decade. Kashmir also witnessed widespread protests in the aftermath of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani's death in an encounter.

Since the past one year, the state has been without a democratically elected government. Amid the prevailing tensions in the state, the Election Commission decided to postpone the state assembly elections which were expected to be held simultaneously with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"The government has adopted a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism. Security forces are taking effective and continuous action in countering terrorism. This has resulted in corresponding change in the number of such incidents, including casualties," G Kishan Reddy told the Lok Sabha.

He said, "Security forces are also keeping a close watch on persons who attempt to provide support to terrorists and initiate action against them."

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