Jammu: An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir late on Thursday, police said. The encounter is underway at Hanjin Rajpora area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said. "Encounter has started at Hanjin Rajpora area of Pulwama. Police and security forces are on the job," a police officer said.

Meanwhile, three to four militants are believed to be trapped. Police have said that 3 terrorists have been neutralised and they belong to Lashkar-E-Taiba. One army officer was martyred during the operation. The search ops is still underway as forces fear more terrorists are trapped.

The firefight between terrorists and security forces took place after a joint team of the police and the army cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about the presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding, they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.

(With inputs from Asif Qureshi)