Srinagar, Nov 2 (IANS): An encounter started on Saturday between holed-up terrorists and the security forces in the heart of Jammu & Kashmir’s Srinagar city.

Officials said that following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists, security forces started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in the Khanyar area of Srinagar city.

“As the security forces came closer to the hiding terrorists, they fired at the security forces triggering an encounter which is now going on,” officials said.

Saturday’s encounter started in the heart of Srinagar city’s downtown area. It is for the first time in more than 10 years that an encounter started in the old city area.

This area was once the hotbed of separatist sentiment and militants used to move freely in this area.

With the passage of time, security forces managed to eliminate militancy from these areas. It was believed that Srinagar city in general and the downtown area in particular had been cleared of militancy.

The belief seems to have been shattered by Saturday's gunfight raging in the Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar.

On Friday, terrorists shot at and injured two non-local labourers, Sanjay and Usman, both belonging to Uttar Pradesh, in Mazhama village of Magam area of Budgam district.

Both injured were immediately shifted to a hospital where doctors described their condition as stable.

Earlier last month, terrorists killed seven unarmed workers of an infrastructure project company in the Gagangir area of Ganderbal district. The workers were building a tunnel from Gagangir to Sonamarg tourist resort to make the Srinagar-Sonamarg an all-weather road.

Those killed in Gagangir attack included six non-local workers and a local doctor belonging to Budgam district.

Later, terrorists killed three army soldiers and two porters in Botapathri area of Gulmarg.