Jammu, Nov 30 (IANS): Unexploded bombs left behind by three militants, gunned down after they stormed a military base near Jammu, were defused as the search for hidden explosives continued on Wednesday, the army said.

"Blinds (unexploded shells) are being destroyed at the encounter site by the bomb disposal squad," Defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta told IANS here.

He said the search operation was nearing its end and the site of a nearly 14-hour-long gunbattle between the militants and soldiers was more or less sanitised completely.

Lt Col Mehta said three suicide bombers disguised in police uniform barged into the field regiment camp at Nagrota, 15 km from here, early on Tuesday, killing seven soldiers. All the attackers were gunned down.

Two officers -- Major Gosavi Kunal Mannadir and Major Akshay Girish Kumar -- were among the soldiers killed in the attack. The others who died included Havaldar Sukhraj Singh, Lance Naik Kadam Sam Bhaji Yeshwantro, Grenadier Raghvendra Singh and Rifleman Azim Rai.

Five soldiers were also injured in the attack that occurred barely three kilometers away from the headquarters of the Army's 16 Corps in Nagrota. It is the largest Corps of the Indian Army and acts as a nerve centre to fight militancy and defend border with Pakistan.