A gunfight has broken out between security forces and terrorists in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district , officials said on Saturday.
Local media reports said about five militants are believed to be surrounded by security forces.
The skirmish flared up as a joint team consisting of state police and the Indian army cordoned off the forested Chor Ki Gali area and launched a search after receiving specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area.
"A joint operation was launched in the morning based on Jammu and Kashmir Police input at Chor Ki Gali in the Sedhau forest area of Shopian. The area was cordoned off and contact established. Firefight ensued. Joint operation is in progress," the Army told reporters.
Chor ki Gali is a pass in South Kashmir, often used as a short cut in the Sedhau forest area of Shopian.
The gunfight between terrorists and Indian armed forces in Manihal, Shopian, is the ninth such incident this year. In March, Jehangir Ahmad Wani, a resident of Shopian and leading member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organisation, and Sajjad Afghani, a senior member of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, were killed during a skirmish in the Kashmir Valley.