Srinagar: Two militants, who had taken shelter in a house after escaping from a mosque, and an army jawan were killed and a major injured after 60 civilians, including 40 women trapped inside the place of worship were rescued in Litter village in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, 70 km from Srinagar.

The ultras had taken shelter in the house after the security forces launched an operation to rescue the trapped people from the mosque.

The militants initially had taken shelter in the mosque when police launched a massive house-to-house searches to nab the gunmen involved in the gruesome killing of IRCON engineer Sudhir Kumar and his brother yesterday, the sources said.

As the security forces approached the mosque, there was a brief exchange of fire between the militants and the troops.

Army with the help of women police rescued 60 trapped civilians from the place of worship. The civilians had visited a nearby shrine to pay their obeisance when the firing broke out and they took shelter in the mosque, the sources said.

The rescued civilians were immediately segregated and scrutinised by the troops to avoid militants escaping in the guise of the civilians, the sources said.

As the scrutiny was in progress, militants who after escaping from the mosque took shelter inside an adjacent house opened fire on the troops again killing an army jawan and wounding a major, the sources said.

The troops fired back killing both the militants whose identity and group affiliation was being ascertained.

The operation was called off after the troops searched the mosque and adjoining houses.

The sources said two AK assault rifles, five magazines, ten hand grenades and a wireless set were recovered from them.

However, it was not immediately known whether the deceased ultras were involved in the gruesome murder of Pundir brothers, they said.

Once the identity of the deceased is established, we can say whether they were involved in the kidnapping and murder of the railway engineer and his brother, the sources said.

Litter along with three other villages including Sagoo-handhama, the village from where police recovered blood-soaked and mud-drenched bodies of IRCON engineer Sudhir and his brother Sandeep, were sealed by security forces this morning.

This was the second incident within a fortnight when militants took shelter inside the mosque to escape the troops dragnet.

On June 10, three ultras holed up inside a mosque were killed after a two-day operation at village Bogund in Kulgam area of Anantnag district. The mosque was also damaged in the encounter.