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Bodies of LeT commander, 2 others recovered from Arwani

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 6/18/2017 2:00:05 AM

Thousands join funeral

SRINAGAR, Jun 17: Bodies of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Junaid Ahmad Mattoo and two others were recovered today from the encounter site in Arwani village of South Kashmir.
Besides 24-year-old Mattoo alias ‘Jana’, the other two bodies were of 18-year-old Adil Mushtaq Mir alias ‘Nana’ and 20-year-old Nisar Ahmad Wani. All three belong to the Lashkar.
Hailing from Khudwani village of Kulgam, 24-year-old Mattoo joined militancy in June 2015. He had a meteoric rise within the Lashkar group and was appointed commander for South Kashmir after he gunned down two policemen in broad daylight at Anantnag bus stand in June last year.
While Mir hailed from Frasbal area of Pampore, Wani was from Heff Shremal of Shopian district. Both had joined militancy after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani last year.
Police had laid a cordon around a house in Malik Mohalla in Arwani village at 8 AM yesterday following an intelligence tip off about the presence of three militants there. The first engagement with militants took place at 10 AM after which additional forces were rushed to the spot.
By late afternoon, firing had stopped but two houses had caught fire during the encounter and were also blasted by security forces. After the fire tenders doused the raging flames, police and other security forces, which were already embattled by stone pelters, began a search operation in the rubble.
The search operation was also hampered after six policemen including an officer Feroz Ahmed Dar were gunned down at Achabal area, 20 km south of the encounter site. This act was a revenge by Lashkar-e-Taiba for killing of Mattoo and two others.
During yesterday’s encounter, two civilians were also killed in security forces firing on protestors.
The bodies of militants were handed over to respective families while reports said that thousands of mourners participated in their separate funeral processions.
Thousands of people participated in the funeral prayers of slain Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Adil Mushtaq Mir in Frestbal area of Pampore in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The funeral prayers were held at a local ground. At least five militants appeared in the funeral and offered a gun-salute.
Thousands of people on Saturday participated in the funeral prayers of slain Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Junaid Mattoo in Khudwani village of Qaimoh tehsil of Anantnag district.
At least four funerals were held for Mattoo at a local Eidgah. Large number of people also participated in the last rites of third militant Naseer Ahmed Malik at Hefshermal Shopian.