Bijbehara: Two civilians were killed after armed forces opened fire on a large mob which attempted to disrupt their operation and rescue three trapped militants, including Lashkar commander Junaid Mattu, in Arwani quarter of the town Friday morning.
Normal life came to a grinding halt and hundreds of people rushed towards Malik Mohalla in Arwani where a fierce encounter was raging between trapped militants and army which was backed by contingents of paramilitary and police forces.
Militants led by Junaid Mattu put up a stiff resistance and the encounter went on for several hours. The army later blasted the house, where the militants were trapped, with explosives. The house caught fire killing all the three.The slain militants were identified as Junaid Mattu, Nasir Wani and Adil Mushtaq Mir, all locals.
According to a senior police official, the encounter began early on Friday morning when the joint party of Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and the SOG of the state police cordoned off the Arwani village.
On receiving input about the presence of Mattu with his companions in the area, the security forces swung into action and cordoned the entire area and started an intensive search operation, said the police official.
However, the residents on getting information about the militants being trapped by the security forces, gathered near the security cordon.
As the locals started pelting stones at the outer ring of the security cordon manned by the CRPF, the Rashtriya Rifles got engaged in a fierce gun-battle with the trapped militants.
The furious protesters raising pro-Azadi slogans hurled rocks on the forces who retaliated with pellets, tear-smoke shells and finally bullets.
Eyewitnesses said that scores of protesters suffered pellet and bullet injuries of whom two succumbed to their injuries.
One of the deceased civilian was was identified as 30-year-old Muhammad Ashraf. Ashraf, a resident of Khaarpora, had received a bullet in his chest.
Locals informed that the injured youth was shifted to the District Hospital Anantnag where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Another of the deceased was identified as 14 year old Ahsan Ali son of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar of Shamspora.
The boy was hit by a bullet in the abdomen at the encounter site. He was referred to Qaimoh hospital, locals said, where doctors declared him brought dead.
They fired directly at the protesters. More than a dozen people were injured,” alleged Asgar Ahmad Kuchai, a resident of Khaarpora village.
Doctors at the Sub District Hospital (SDH Bijbehara) said that scores of people were brought to the hospital with bullet injuries and that they were shifted to hospitals in Srinagar for specialised treatment. They said at least one more injured youth was critical.
One report said six protesters had received bullet injuries, one suffered pellet injury in the eye and there were a dozen others in the hospital.
Who was Junaid Mattu?
Junaid Mattu, a local boy from Khudwani was in lime light after he shot dead two policemen in broad daylight at the busy Anantnag bus stand in June 2016.
He was seen on CCTV footage carrying out the attack.
Mattu became popular among his peers after daredevil attack, videos of which went viral on social networking sites. His popularity could be the reason why there were such intense protests in south Kashmir on Friday.
Protests Spread
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The protests meanwhile spread to other parts of the Valley on Friday. Clashes between armed forces and protesters erupted in Srinagar, Pampore, Sopore and Bandipora.
The Hurriyat Conference in the meanwhile called for a complete shutdown on Saturday against the civilian killings.
Tension in the Valley was already high after a civilian, Naseer Ahmad Sheikh, died on Thursday after getting injured during protests in Rangreth locality in Srinagar. Almost all the schools and colleges have also been ordered shut.
Lashkar Tributes
Lashkar-e-Taiba paid their tribute to Commander, Junaid Mattoo, Azad Malik, Muhammad Ashraf, and Naseer Ahmed Sheikh,Ihsan Dar in Kulgam’s village Arwani and said that these sacrifices will not go in vain.
Lashkar-e-Taiba Chief Commander Mehmood Shah in a statement to CNS said that the pure and sacred blood of martyrs shall prove disastrous for India. Mahmood Shah appreciated the mothers, sisters, old and young who came up against Indian forces and in solidarity with their Mujahideen brothers.
No power on earth can be proven as fatal to the Mujahideen, the support of our brothers and sisters and the divine help of Allah SWT is what keeps us standing firm in our ranks against a brutal enemy.
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