Army major, militant killed, another officer and 2 jawans injured in Kashmir encounter

An Army major and a militant were killed, while another officer and two troopers were injured on Monday in an encounter between security forces and the ultras in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, officials said.

Major Ketan Sharma was killed while another officer of the same rank and two soldiers were injured in the encounter in the Achabal area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district, they added.

The injured were rushed to the 92 base hospital of the Army in Srinagar, the officials said.

They added that an unidentified militant was also killed in the gunfight and his body recovered.

Arms and ammunition were seized from the encounter site, the officials said.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain militant was being ascertained, they added.

Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area in the morning. The search operation led to a gunfight after the militants fired on the forces, who retaliated.