At least three soldiers were killed and 15 security personnel injured during an encounter with a group of militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday. A militant was also killed during the encounter, which began after security personnel received intelligence inputs about the presence of gunmen in a residential part of the district, NDTV reported.

While the militants tried to break the cordon around their hideout, they were stopped by security personnel, who trapped them in the area according to the report. The soldiers injured in the gun battle have been airlifted to an Army hospital in Srinagar. Some of them are reportedly in critical condition. Personnel from the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police also took part in the operation. Later, the personnel managed to recover arms and ammunition from the site of the encounter, ANI reported.

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The encounter took place two days after two security personnel, four militants and a civilian were killed in an encounter in a village in the state’s Kulgam district. It also took place a day after Pakistan claimed that three of its soldiers were killed by Indian forces in cross-border firing across the Line of Control.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations said the soldiers were killed in Thoob sector of Bhimber district. ISPR also accused Indian forces of being responsible for a rise in cross-border firings. According to the Pakistan Army, India has violated the ceasefire at least 178 times along the LoC and the international border last year. They also alleged that the firings resulted in the deaths of 19 civilians, while 80 others were injured.