Imphal: Three militants of underground Kanglei Yawol Kann Lup (KYKL) were killed in an encounter in Thoubal district of Manipur today (Jan 6, 2004), official sources said.

The gunbattle occurred when the commandos, attached to Thoubal police station, intercepted the militants while patrolling Chingdompok Litanmakhong area, about 25 km Southeast of Imphal, at around 08:30 hours (IST), they said.

The KYKL militants, who were coming down to valley from Ishingthibi hill area, fired at the security personnel, who retaliated killing three militants on the spot, sources said.

Some arms were recovered from the spot of the first major extremist-related incident this year, they added.