Srinagar: The Indian Army killed three unidentified militants in a gunfight on Saturday in Kreeri, Baramulla, North Kashmir.

The Army called the encounter a "significant success" and a "major disruption of Pakistan’s nefarious designs" ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

The operation took place just hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an election rally in Doda, Jammu, as part of his campaign ahead of the elections.

The operation was launched on Friday by a joint team consisting of J&K Police, the Army’s 29 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), and paramilitary forces in Kreeri’s Chak-e-Tapper village.

The action was based on specific intelligence about the presence of militants in the area.

Brigadier Sanjay Kannoth, commander of the Army’s 10 Sector Rashtriya Rifles (RR), stated during an evening press briefing that as the joint security forces were cordoning off the area, the militants in hiding opened fire, prompting the security team to retaliate, reported Indian Express.

“For some time, we have been receiving inputs about the movement of unidentified terrorists in the general area of Kreeri. Yesterday on 13th September, we received a specific intelligence input about the movement of some unidentified terrorist in Chak-e-Tapper,” the officer was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

He stated that a joint team comprising the Army, the J&K Police, its Special Operations Group, and the Sashastra Seema Bal was dispatched.

“When our parties and columns were in the process of establishing a cordon, (the) terrorists hiding in a disused building opened a heavy volume of fire,” he said. “The militants continued to open a heavy volume of fire throughout the night.”

The operation extended into the morning, during which the troops "professionally engaged the terrorists and neutralised them," he said, adding that "war-like stores" were recovered from the militants.

Brigadier Kanooth emphasized that the operation "assumes significance" as Jammu and Kashmir prepares for the assembly elections starting on September 18.

Army foils infiltration bid in Rajouri

An Indian Army soldier sustained injuries during an operation to foil an infiltration bid by Pakistani terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, reported India Today.

The infiltration was attempted by terrorists in the Kalal area of the Nowshera sector, which was aborted by the Army personnel.

According to the security officials, the Indian soldiers noticed some terrorists and challenged them, leading to a gunbattle that continued for some time.

Amid the fight, the terrorists managed to escape into the nearby forest and a massive search operation has been launched to track and neutralise them at the earliest.