Three militants were killed, and one army officer was injured on Tuesday in a gun battle in Handwara, which lies in Kashmir’s Kupwara district, Kashmir Reader reported. The Army’s 30 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir police had launched a joint search operation in Hajin Kralgund area of Handwara after they received intelligence that militants were in the area.

During the operation, militants started firing and injured one soldier, the police told the daily. The Army retaliated and killed three militants, the official added. Deputy Inspector General North Kashmir Nitish Kumar said the three militants were members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, reported Greater Kashmir.

This is the second encounter of the day in the region. On Tuesday morning, at least three soldiers and one militant were killed during an encounter with a group of militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district. Another 15 security personnel were injured in the encounter.