Armymen stand guard near the village where three militants are believed to be hiding
Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in a village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, police said.
The encounter had broken out last night after security forces launched a search operation in the Rajpora area based on specific information that militants were hiding in the region.
The militants are believed to be locals and include one who is believed to have joined militant ranks on August 19 this year.
Earlier, the security forces had brought the father of one of the militants to persuade him to surrender. However, there was no response to the surrender offer.
A joint team of the army and police had laid a tight cordon around the area laying concertina wires and setting up search lights around the village of Hajan Balla to stop the militants from sneaking out of the area under the cover of darkness.
The militants hiding in the area opened fire to break open the cordon. The operation was launched last evening but was suspended late last night. The encounter had resumed early morning today.