Srinagar, Sep 14 : Three terrorists were killed on Saturday in a gunfight with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.

Police said the three terrorists were killed in the encounter in Chak Tappar Kreeri area of Pattan tehsil in Baramulla district on Saturday.

'The encounter started late last evening between the security forces and the terrorists in Chak Tappar Kreeri area of Baramulla district.

'The operation was suspended late last night because of bad light and it was resumed today morning and three terrorists have been killed in this operation.

'Searches are still going on in the area. The exact identity and affiliation of the slain terrorists are being ascertained,' officials said.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorist operation is still going on in Chatroo village of Kishtwar district in Jammu division where two Army soldiers were martyred and two others injured in an encounter with a group of terrorists on Friday.

Eight Assembly constituencies spread across Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts in the Chenab valley region along with 16 seats in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam are going to polls in the first phase on September 18.

Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts are going to vote in the second and third phase of J&K elections on September 25 and October 1.

The hilly districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur in Jammu division have witnessed terrorist ambush attacks against the Army, security forces and civilians during the last two months.

After reports that a group of hardcore foreign terrorists, believed to be 40 to 50 in number, are responsible for these attacks, the Army deployed over 4,000 trained soldiers drawn from the elite Para commandos and those trained in mountain warfare inside the densely forested areas of those districts.

Terrorists used the element of surprise to carry out ambush attacks and then disappear in the forests of these hilly areas.

The deployment of the Army and the CRPF together with the strengthening of the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) managed by local residents, has deprived the terrorists of the element of surprise to carry out such attacks.

After the security forces started aggressively going after the terrorists both in the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley, the terrorists are now increasingly being engaged in exchange of firing with the security forces.

'They either get killed during such encounters or remain on the run. This prevents them from surprising the security forces by carrying out sly attacks', a senior police officer said.

/IANS