He said troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF on a tip off about the presence of militants at village Bugam, Badgam, launched a joint search operation early Sunday morning. All the exit points were sealed and house-to-house searches launched.

However, when the security forces were moving towards a particular area in the village, militants hiding there opened indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons.

Troops also retaliated and in the ensuing encounter a militant was killed, he said. The slain militants of HM was identified as Hilal Ahmad Bhat from Armulla village of Pulwama. Large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site, he said.