Srinagar, Jan 21 (IANS): Three militants were killed on Monday in a daylong gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district.
Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that searches were still going on in the area.
The exact identity of slain men was being ascertained, police said.
Security forces had started a cordon and search operation on Monday in the Hapatnar forests of Chrar-e-Sharief area of Badgam following information about the presence of militants there.
The militants fired at the security forces, triggering a gun battle.
Meanwhile, protests broke out near the gunfight site between civilian protesters and security personnel who used tear smoke canisters to quell the mob.
Authorities suspended mobile Internet services in Badgam district as a precaution.