A few weeks after Jammu and Kashmir police moved court seeking directions to block Facebook pages glorifying militancy, a video of extremists in combat gear has gone viral.
The video showing 11 militants dressed in army uniforms and carrying assault rifles, has been uploaded by the Hizbul Mujahideen, sources said Monday.
The video was apparently shot at an apple orchard in South Kashmir's Yaripora region.
It was uploaded after police managed to remove still photos of the same group of militants who recently joined the banned Hizbul Mujahideen group.
Prominent among the militants is Naseer, formerly a constable with the Jammu and Kashmir Police who ran away with two AK-47 rifles while on guard outside the home of minister Altaf Bhukari.
The picture also showed Burhan Wani, a resident of Tral, who has emerged as the young face of Hizbul Mujahideen in the valley, after his brother was killed in an encounter with the army.
The young militants, mostly from well-off backgrounds, pose a new threat to security agencies. They are mostly homegrown and have joined the ranks of militants post the 2010 street agitations.
The social networking updates are seen as a new strategy by militants who till recently were apprehensive of exposing their identities. ``They are trying to show their daredevil attitude," the source said.
{{/usCountry}}The social networking updates are seen as a new strategy by militants who till recently were apprehensive of exposing their identities. ``They are trying to show their daredevil attitude," the source said.
{{/usCountry}}In yet another facebook profile-`Lovers of mujahid zakir -moosa', photos of another militant have been uploaded. The page administrator has identified it as the `official page of active militant Zakir from Noorpora Tral'.The page has 1,276 likes.
The police however dismiss this as `cheap publicity'. ``These are militants who are known to us. We have their pictures, their addresses," said IG Kashmir, Javeed Gillani.
"They are just trying to get some cheap publicity," he added. Gillani said that police has taken note and will remove the pages soon.