Hours after an Army captain and two soldiers were killed by militants who stormed a garrison in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara, a civilian was shot dead by security forces on Thursday, PTI reported. The personnel had opened fire on a group of protestors who were seeking the bodies of two militants who had died in the encounter. The civilian has been identified as Mohammad Yusuf, 50, the news agency said.

The militants began to shoot at the Army’s Panzgam camp around 4 am, and heavy exchange of fire ensued. The artillery base targeted is located close to the Line of Control with Pakistan. The strike is believed to have been a suicide attack, and combing operations are on to locate the other militants suspected to be hiding in the area. The attack was carried out hours after Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lieutenant General JS Sandhu said that around 150 militants were waiting near the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to enter Jammu and Kashmir.