Five people, including two security personnel, two army officers and a civilian, have been killed in an ongoing battle near Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorists attacked a Central Reserve Police Force convoy near the town on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway on Saturday and then entered the complex of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute government building. More than 14 hours since the gunfight began, the encounter is still on. The first army officer killed has been identified as Captain Pawan Kumar.

Three to five militants are suspected to be holed up inside the training institute complex, senior police officer Javid Gilani said. Army personnel were rushed to the location to assist local police and CRPF. The headquarters of the army’s elite 15 Corps is located merely 10 km from the site of the encounter.

A senior police officer told IANS that 11 CRPF troopers travelling in the bus that was attacked were injured. Three of them succumbed to their injuries, while others are being treated in a hospital. At least 10 other people, including civilians, were reportedly injured in the attack. The entire area has been cordoned off, and officials said around 20 people, including government employees who were trapped inside the main building of the complex, were evacuated. Some 90 others were evacuated from nearby buildings.