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Srinagar, May 8 (IANS) What is the reality of the TRF or The Resistance Front - the newly-floated militant outfit of Kashmir, which has claimed a series of terror attacks in Kashmir since it was floated three months back.
It owned responsibility for a grenade attack at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on February 2 in which four civilians and two CRPF jawans were injured, and on Sunday when the security forces were engaged in an intense encounter at Handwara in which five security personnel, including a colonel and a major, were killed in action, TRF took to social media, glorifying the act of terror.
It issued a statement saying both the killed militants in Handwara are local militants. However, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar clarified that one of those killed is Haider, a Pakistani terrorist belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Police say that TRF is a shadow outfit of the LeT and most militants killed in encounters who claim to belong to the TRF are actually associates of the LeT and the Hizbul Mujahideen.
The police say that the outfit has been floated at the time when Pakistan is facing the heat from the FATF to wind up terror camps and end its support for terrorists. The TRF has been floated to present Kashmir militancy as an indigenous one internationally, they said.
Vijay Kumar said the TRF draws its cadres from the LeT and the Hizbul Mujahideen.
"TRF is not a new thing. Due to international pressure after August 5, 2019 abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan made a conspiracy, changed the name and floated TRF to give a local face to militancy and indicate that it has no hand in it.... all this while all the militants of TRF killed and arrested are that of LeT, it is now trying to add to Hizbul Mujahideen militants also in its ambit," he said.
The TRF has been using social media to glorify home grown militancy and to taking ownership of the attacks.
Sources say this is an effort to take centre stage of militancy in Kashmir and attract more youth to its fold.
Vijay Kumar, however, said the security forces are denying it an opportunity to use social media for spreading propaganda.
"TRF used to post messages on the Telegram about it taking part in militant activities, but after the killing of Riyaz Naikoo, nothing of sort happened because we have with the help of the government, blocked the channel that they were using to update their messages on the service," he said.
With militants changing their tactics, security forces cannot afford to lower their guard be it is fighting terrorism or the propaganda war.
--IANS
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