Three militants and a soldier were killed in a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday, officials said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Zadoora area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir during the night following specific information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon a search party of the security forces.
In the exchange of firing, three militants were killed, the official said.
Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, was recovered from the encounter site, he added.
Srinagar-based Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said one soldier was critically injured during the gunfight and later he succumbed to the injuries.
The operation is going on, the official said.
On Friday, four militants, including a former police constable, were killed in an encounter with security forces, while another surrendered, in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The former Jammu and Kashmir police constable, identified as Shakoor Parray, was the district commander of the Al-Badr outfit.
Two the killed militants were involved in the abduction and killing of a panch from Khanmoh area of the city, whose body was recovered from Shopian on Friday. The murdered panch was later identified as Nisar Ahmad Bhat, 45, a village head affiliated with the BJP, who was reported missing since August 19 by his family at Panthachowk in the city.
All the killed militants had a long history of terror crime records and were involved in planning and executing several terror attacks in the area, including attacks on police and security establishments, a police spokesperson said.
Parray and Suhail Bhat, who were involved in the abduction and killing of the panch, were also involved in abduction of a Territorial Army soldier Shakir Manzoor Wagay, a resident of Shopian who has been reportedly killed, police said,
