At least three suspected Lashkar-Taiba militants were killed in a gunfight with security personnel in Mujgund on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, the state police said. One Army jawan and three civilians were injured.

The police identified the deceased as Mudasir Rashid Parray of Hajin in Bandipora, Saqib Bilal Sheikh of Hajin and, based on preliminary evidence, Ali from Pakistan. Arms and ammunition were recovered from them.

The police said they were looking for the crimes committed by these suspected militants. “Ali, according to police records, was involved in several terror crimes and several terror cases were registered against him including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities,” they added. “He was involved in recruitments in Hajin and Sumbal areas of Bandipora.”

An unidentified police officer said that security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation near the Srinagar-Bandipora Road on Saturday evening. They retaliated after the gunmen fired at them. The gun battle was stopped for the night and the police cordoned off the area to prevent the suspected militants from escaping. Mobile internet services in Srinagar were suspended after the encounter began.

Protestors clashed with the police on Saturday night after the encounter was halted, Greater Kashmir reported. The police fired tear gas shells to stop them from reaching the encounter site.

Meanwhile, residents of Hajin in Bandipora on Sunday claimed that a teenager from the town was among those killed in the encounter. The police have allegedly kept his body at the police station in Hajin. Protestors demonstrated against the killings and clashed with security personnel, an unidentified official told Scroll.in.