Srinagar, Oct 12 (IANS): A three-day battle between security forces and terrorists holed up in a government building near here ended on Wednesday with the death of two militants, the army announced.

General Officer Commanding Ashok Narula said the military operation, which began on Monday morning, was done in a manner that there would be no collateral damage. 

"Two terrorists have been eliminated and two weapons recovered. We will give details of other articles recovered later," Narula told the media. 

"We did not want any collateral damage. So it took us time. There are 60 rooms in the building. That is the reason it took time to clear every room," he said. 

The seven-storey Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) hostel where the terrorists sneaked into on Monday is located on the banks of the river Jhelum and 12 km from the Srinagar city centre.

The main building of the institute was attacked in February when six persons - a civilian, three soldiers and two paramilitary troopers -- were killed before three militants were shot dead.