Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday, said the police. A search operation is underway.

The deceased have been identified as Umar Fayaz, Adil Bashir and Faizan Hameed. All are said to be members of Hizbul Mujahideen, according to police records. They have been involved in several terror crimes and atrocities on civilians.

Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Gulshanpora area of Tral on Sunday morning after receiving intelligence input about the presence of militants. A police official said the militants fired at the security forces during the search operation. Arms and ammunition have been recovered from the militants.