Four terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), including a Pakistani, were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces on Saturday in the Hajin Payeen area of Rajpora village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Army spokesman, Colonel Rajesh Kalia, confirmed that the terrorists were killed in a brief encounter in the morning. Weapons and warlike stores have been recovered.

The bodies of the slain terrorists were recovered. Three of them were identified as local Kashmiris. They were wanted in cases of attacks at security forces and snatching weapons.

Clashes between a mob of stone pelters and security forces broke out in the area during the encounter. Eleven persons were injured in the clashes.

Reports said that youth took to streets and hurled stones on the security forces as soon as the news of the gunfight spread in the area. People from villages near the encounter spot gathered there and started pelting stones at the security forces who fired teargas shells to disperse the miscreants.

Police said that based on a credible input about presence of terrorists in the area a cordon and search operation was launched in the morning jointly by Police and security forces in the area.

As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the terrorists. The fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight.

The house in which the terrorists were hiding got razed to the ground during the encounter.

In another incident, the Army thwarted a terrorist strike in Jammu during the Republic Day celebrations by recovering a cache of arms and ammunition early this morning.

Army spokesman, Lt. Colonel Devender Anand, said that at early hours, based on inputs from Military Intelligence, a joint operation by Army Brigade at Samba and J-K Police was launched at Galak in Billawar Block of Kathua district.

In this operation, a huge cache of warlike stores, including one AK-47 assault rifle, one AK-56 assault rifle, one hand grenade, four magazines, 256 rounds of AK ammunition, and 59 rounds of Sniper ammunition were recovered.

“This recovery has averted a major terrorist strike planned in Jammu region,” he said.

Meanwhile, terrorists tossed a grenade at the police station in the morning in the general bus stand in Jammu. One person has been arrested in this connection.