Indian security forces killed a top Jaish-e-Mohammad commander in Samboora area of Awantipora in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Monday night, said the Defence Ministry.

The deceased militant has been identified as Noor Mohammad Tantray alias Noor Trali. Defence Ministry spokesperson Rajesh Kalia said the militant was the divisional commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad for South Kashmir, reported local agency Global News Service.

A joint team of 50 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operations Group and Railway Protection Force personnel laid siege to the Samboora area on Monday night after getting inputs about the presence of militants in the area. In the subsequent gunfight, Noor Trali was killed and the house in which the militants had taken refuge was substantially damaged, according to Global News Service.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid said on Twitter that the militant and his companions were planning to attack an Indian Army convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

A press release the Kashmir Police issued said Noor had been convicted in a militancy-related case in 2003 and was in prison until 2015. After his release on parole, Noor became a Jaish-e-Mohammad worker in Kashmir. The press release said he was one of the “chief architects” of the militant attack on a Border Security Force camp in Srinagar in October.

The security teams are looking for the body of another militant killed during the operation, NDTV reported.