The Army on Tuesday said it killed a militant in an ongoing operation in south Kashmir’s Shopian.

“One terrorist has been killed in the operation at Melahura in Shopian. The joint operation is in progress,” said a Srinagar-based Army spokesman.

Preliminary reports suggest more militants are hiding in the area.

Police sources said the gunfight erupted in Melahura village when a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by the police, the Army and the CRPF. “During the search operation, the hiding militants fired on the search party,” the police official said.

Four militants were killed in Shopian on April 22. Around 12 militants were killed in south Kashmir in the past 11 days in stepped up operations against local militants.