NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Indian intelligence agencies have submitted a detailed report to the country’s Home Ministry on growing terrorist activity in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, expressing grave concern over the online recruiting strategies being used by various militant groups in the area, sources in the Indian Home Ministry told Sputnik Tuesday.
Predominantly young people are being targeted by militants through social media, the report said.
According to intelligence service estimates, around a dozen young people from the South Kashmir area have joined terrorist groups in the valley.
The spy agencies pointed out that the terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen has also posted pictures of three of their members on social media sites to attract youths to join them, according to the sources.
Hizbul Mujahideen is a separatist group founded in 1985 by Muhammad Ahsan Dar and operating in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is considered a terrorist organization by India, the United States and the European Union.
The region of Kashmir has been disputed by India and Pakistan following the dissolution of British India and the establishment of the two countries as modern states in 1947. Some local residents, especially those residing in the Kashmir Valley, call for greater autonomy or even independence from India.