Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said that three Al-Badr militants were killed in an encounter in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday, reported ANI. Al-Badr was allegedly formed by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence in 1998, and operates from the Jammu and Kashmir region.

A civilian was also injured in the gunfight between the militants and the security forces, according to Greater Kashmir. Unidentified officials told news agency GNS that the injured civilian was admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment and his condition was stable.

The gunfight ensued after a joint team of the Indian Army, the police and the Central Reserve Police Force launched a cordon and search operation in Tiken. The militants opened fire as the security forces neared the suspected hiding spot of those killed.

This is the third operation launched by the security forces in Kashmir since last night, the Hindustan Times reported. In the two other operations in North Kashmir, no contact was established with the militants during the cordon and search operations.

In November, two suspected militants were killed, while another surrendered before security forces during an overnight gunfight in Pulwama. A civilian was also killed in the operation.

Hizbul Mujahideen’s new operations commander Saifullah was killed on November 1 in a gunfight with security forces in Srinagar. Saifullah had taken over as chief of the organisation after Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir’s longest surviving militants, was killed in May.