Four Army men, including a Major, and a civilian have been killed in an ongoing encounter in south Kashmir's Pulwama on Monday morning.

Initial reports suggest that the army personnel of 55 Rashtriya Rifles surrounded a residential area in a pre-dawn operation against hiding militants at Pinglena area of Pulwama. "The search party came under heavy fire. Four soldier died in the initial exchange of fire," said a police official.

Among the dead is a Major. The officer was identified as Major D.S. Dondial, Head Constable Sava Ram, Sepoy Ajay Kumar and Sepoy Hari Singh. However, the Army has not confirmed any casualty officially.

One injured armyman solider, Gulzar Muhammad, has been evacuated to Army's 92 Base Hospital Badamibagh in Srinagar.

A civilian, identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat, was also injured in the firing. "He later succumbed to his injuries," said an official. Two to three militants are believed to be hiding in the area. "Firing, which stopped for a while, has resumed," said an official.

The place of encounter is just 15 km away from the car bomb explosion site at Lethpora, which left 40 CRPF jawans dead on February 14.