A gun battle broke out in Pulwama town of the south Kashmir district after the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said

Three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including a Pakistani national, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said. A gun battle broke out in Pulwama town of the south Kashmir district after the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated. Three militants were killed in the gun battle.

“One of the slain terrorists had been identified as LeT commander Aijaz @abu Huraira,” the official said, adding the slain ultra was a Pakistani national. The official said a search operation was going on in the area.