LeT militant Mattoo rose up ranks in 2 yrs

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Junaid Ahmad Mattoo, who was gunned down by forces along with two associates on Friday, had quickly risen up the ranks to become the man behind a number of militant strikes in the Valley.

After Burhan Wani and Sabzar Bhat, Mattoo is the third high-profile militant killed since 2016.

The 20-year-old was an ‘A++’ listed militant and carried a bounty of ₹10 lakh on his head. He was among the 12 dreaded militants whose names were recently released by the army.

According to reports, Mattoo was a college student before he joined militancy in June 2015 and in just two years became a top LeT commander. Mattoo alias Kandroo, had succeeded Majid Zargar as the militant outfit’s chief of Kulgam after the latter was killed in an encounter.

Security forces hailed Mattoo’s killing as a ‘big success’. “He was involved in the killing of a police constable at Bogund in Kulgam on 15th of this month. He was involved in Mirbazar police party attack where police official Mehmood attained martyrdom. He was also behind the killing of an ASI and a constable near Anantnag bus stand last year,’’ read a police statement.

Mattoo was buried in his native village of Khudwani in Kulgam. While LeT had confirmed his death on Friday evening, police confirmed the killing after recovering his body from the encounter site on Saturday morning.

Authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other sensitive places across the Valley on Saturday, while separatists e called for a protest shutdown against the killing of the LeT militants.

20YEAROLD MATTOO IS THIRD HIGHPROFILE MILITANT KILLED IN VALLEY AFTER BURHAN WANI AND SABZAR BHAT SINCE 2016

AP Women vail in Kashmir’s Surasyar village during the funeral of policeman Tasveer Ahmad on Saturday. Ahmad was among the six cops who were gunned down by Lashkar militants on Friday.