New Delhi: According to media reports top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Junaid Mattoo was on Friday killed in an encounter with security forces in Arwani village of Bijbihara in Anantnag District of south Kashmir.
Mattoo was trapped for more than eight hours with two other local Lashkar militants in a joint operation conducted by Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF to nab the terrorists.
A joint team of Army, J-K police and CRPF cordoned off Arwani village on specific input about presence of Lashkar militants in the area on Friday morning. As the cordon was being laid some youth assembled near the area and started pelting stones on security forces which resulted in clashes.
Junaid Mattoo was involved in a day light attack on a police van in which three policemen including an officer was killed last year. Mattoo’s involvement is also suspected in the killing of a policeman in Kulgam area of South Kashmir on Thursday afternoon.
Mattoo was believed to be active for the past two years and carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
Intelligence sources said that search operation is still ongoing but have been hampered by stone-pelters who are targeting the security forces from different sides.
Police said that Junaid Mattoo is the third top militant who has been killed after Burhan Wani since last year. Buran Wani’s close aid Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was the second militant who was killed in an encounter on May 27 last month.
According to intelligence information, Mattoo had joined militancy at the age of 18. He was put in the list of 12 most wanted militants in the Valley right now by the Army.
