Security personnel on Thursday cordoned off the Hajin village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora following intelligence reports that a militant might be holed up in the area, ANI reported. On November 25, an Army Jawan and two militants were killed in an exchange of fire in Bandipora.

The state has faced several militant attacks and civilian protests since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani on July 8. More than 90 people have been killed in unrest in the past five months, and hundreds have sustained grievous injuries during protests. The Valley has been left paralysed by frequent shutdown calls by separatist groups.

The unrest in the state has also contributed to the worsening ties between India and Pakistan, with Islamabad criticising the Centre’s management of the clashes in Kashmir and calling for a plebiscite in the region several times. Relations between both countries soured further after a militant attack on an Army camp in Kashmir’s Uri sector and the Indian Army’s “surgical strikes” on terror camps along the Line of Control with Pakistan.

Since the surgical strikes on September 29, there have been 286 incidents of firing along the Line of Control and International Border in the state which has led to the death of 26 people, ANI reported.