Since Sunday five soldiers, one officer, eight militants and two civilians have been killed in gunfights in the Kashmir valley. Statistics reveal that the conflict is becoming more local and lethal. The new phenomenon has been in the making over the past two years – belligerent crowds would gather and stone the security forces with an aim to disrupt the counter-insurgency operations and enable the militants to escape.  At times, the militants were protected by the human wall of people of all age groups. This trend picked up pace especially after the killing of militant Burhan Wani in July last year. Burhan’s death became a turning point. The fearlessness with which the mobs attacked the security forces’ camps and convoys has shaped the young generation’s audacity. New information suggests more locals are joining the militants’ ranks.  The security forces are caught in a catch-22 situation for they cannot abandon their operation against militants nor can they fire live ammunition on stone-throwers. Obviously, this new mood of the people has not been factored in by the security forces and the government. The rush-and-raid strategy of the past is no longer relevant. Militants making videos of their preparations to face security forces is something unique. The circulation of such videos on social media as also that of large crowds attending the funeral processions of slain militants works up the intense passions of the young.  They are swelling the militants’ ranks. The counter-terrorism strategy has not moved with this changing pace of reality. The original infiltration-guide-militant and the overground-worker nexus is getting supplemented by fast-growing local militancy. The Jammu and Kashmir Government is looking towards New Delhi to initiate dialogue to infuse hope and defuse militancy as also violent protests.  New Delhi is relying on the old approach of getting everything done and achieved through a hammer approach and leaving things to subside on their own. That strategy appears to be backfiring.  An entire population of civilians is getting sucked into the militant’s corner. The portents of a wider conflict are becoming ominously clear.