Indian security forces on Thursday killed a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba militant in an encounter in Bandipora district’s Hajin region in Jammu and Kashmir, the police said. He was suspected to be a “foreign terrorist”, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police SP Vaid said.

Later, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a statement that prima facie, it appeared that the militant was a Pakistani, the Hindustan Times reported.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Hajin’s Shakurdin village on Thursday morning after receiving information that suspected militants were hiding in the area, an unidentified police officer told PTI. The militants opened fire on the security personnel, and a gunfight ensued, he added.

The police are believed to have recovered arms and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles, from the site of the encounter.

On Wednesday, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, who had been wounded in a gunfight with security forces on Monday, succumbed to his injures. A shutdown called in protest against the militant’s death began in Hajin on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday, The Kashmir Monitor reported.