Jammu: Three Pak militants were killed in a fierce gunbattle with Army troops in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir this afternoon (Feb 20, 2004), official sources said today.

On specific information, troops cordoned off Ander Wali Dhok in Mandi area of Poonch district and launched a surgical operation to track down the four-to-five militants understood to be holed in a hideout there, the sources said.

An encounter followed when troops challenged militants to surrender, the sources said, adding that three militants were killed while two were still engaged in the encounter with the troops.