Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday said that a commander of Jaish-e-Muhammad was killed among three militants slain in a gunfight with government forces in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

Three militants, army soldier and a civilian were killed in the gunfight that raged in the wee hours Dalipora area of the district.

A police spokesperson in a statement said that on a credible input, a cordon and search operation was launched today morning by police and government forces at Dalipora area in Pulwama.

As the Police and government forces were evacuating civilians from the neighborhood area around the target house, the hiding militants fired indiscriminately, he said.

“In the process, one Army personnel Sepoy Sandeep was killed and one civilian Rayees Dar also lost his life,” said the spokesman.

After the forces retaliated, three militants were killed in the ensuing encounter and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter.

They were identified as Naseer Pandith of Kareemabad Pulwama, Umar Mir of Shopian and from the incriminating material recovered from the site of encounter, one militant has been identified as a Pakistani namely Khalid.

According to the police records, the slain were affiliated with proscribed outfit JeM. “They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities,” he said.

As per police records, Naseer Pandith was involved in the killing of a policeman Mohammad Yaqoob Shah of Pulwama in 2018 on the eve of Eid. He was also involved in some weapon snatching incidents reported from the area besides several cases were registered against him for his criminal activities including case FIR No 30/15 & 277/14 under NDPS Act and case FIR No 25/16 pertaining to forgery, said the spokesman.

Similarly, Khalid who was operating as commander of JeM was involved in several attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities in the area, he said.