The official said as the searches were going on, the security forces were fired upon by militants. The fire was retaliated by security forces, leading to a gunfight.

In stepped-up operations against militant outfits, two more militants were killed by security forces in a pre-dawn operation in Pulwama’s Tral on Thursday.

A police spokesman said the militants were hiding inside a house in the Sharshali area of Khrew in Awantipora. “A cordon-and-search operation was launched swiftly by the police and the Army. In the ensuing encounter, both militants were neutralised and their bodies retrieved,” said the police.

The slain militants were identified as Adnan Ahmad Lone, alias Uqaab from Braw Bandina in Awantipora, and Adil Bilal Bhat, alias Umair Al Hizbi from Malangpora in Pulwama. Both were affiliated to the Hizbul Mujahideen.

“Lone was known as the district commander of Pulwama. Both were wanted for their complicity in a series of terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments,” said the police.

Lone was a close associate of Hizb operations commander Reyaz Naikoo and had escaped from an encounter site in Srinagar earlier, said the police. “Huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including rifles, were recovered from the site of encounter,” said the police.

Clashes break out

The native districts of the slain militants witnessed a spontaneous shutdown. People participated in their funeral procession. Clashes also broke out between locals and security forces.

In north Kashmir, scores of protesters were injured at Sopore in Baramulla district. The trigger for protests was the funeral of Mehraj-ud-din, who was killed along with Lashar-e-Taiba commander Naveed Jutt in Pulwama on Wednesday.

Around 42 militants have been killed in Kashmir in November — the highest in any month this year.