Three Central Reserve Police Force soldiers were killed in an attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Handwara town on Monday, PTI reported. The attack came a day after five security forces personnel died in a gunfight at the same place.

A CRPF patrol party was attacked near Qaziabad in Kupawara district, according to ANI. One militant was also killed. Additional forces had reached the area and the attackers were being traced, The Tribune reported.

There have been a series of gunfights and encounters in the region in the recent past.

A Central Industrial Security Force jawan was injured in another attack by militants in Srinagar on Monday, PTI reported. The militants threw a grenade at the security forces’ camp at Nowgam area.

Five security personnel – an Army colonel, a major, two Army officers and a police sub inspector – were killed during an 18-hour anti-militancy operation on Sunday. The Army said that the operation was launched after intelligence inputs were received that terrorists were taking civilian inmates of a house in Changimul village hostage. Two terrorists were also killed during the operation.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police identified the soldiers as Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj, Sub Inspector Sageer Ahmad Qazi, Lance Naik Dinesh and Naik Rajesh.

On April 29, three militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces in Melhora village in Shopian district. On April 22, four militants were killed in a gunfight in the village.

Three militants were killed after an encounter broke out in Lower Munda in Qazigund area of Kulgam district on April 27. The encounter began when militants fired upon a police patrol party in Lower Munda. The previous day, the security forces killed four militants in an encounter in the district.