Army on Saturday said that they came under fresh firing during the operation that was launched yesterday in a forest area in Handwara area of frontier district of Kupwara.
The bodies of three militants killed in the gunfight have been retrieved and their identity is being ascertained, said an official.
“It appears at least two more militants are hiding in the forest area. They fired intermittently at the forces today morning, which was retaliated,” he said.
“The militants could be members of the same group that had infiltrated yesterday but was trapped and engaged in a firefight. Else they could have infiltrated separately today morning,” he added.
Senior army officers of 7 sector RR were seen coming back from the shooting site an hour before after taking stock of the situation on ground, where a search operation is underway since last evening.
A patrolling party of 15 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) on Friday evening intercepted a group of three to four militants at Brinjal forest adjacent to Shahnagar Jat Gali, around 12 kilometres from Handwara tehsil.
Subsequently, three militants were killed during the gunfight yesterday.