Srinagar: A suspected militant was gunned down in a counter-insurgency operation in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, the army said on Wednesday (April 1).A defence spokesperson said that the militant whose identity has not been revealed so far was killed in a “tactically reorganised” operation in Arahama area of Ganderbal district.The encounter broke out on the evening of March 31 when a joint team of security forces exchanged gunfire with a group of suspected militants, reported to be two to three in number, in the woods of Arhama.The army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a post on X, that a joint operation was launched by J&K police and the army following “specific intelligence input” about the presence of militants in the area.“During the search, vigilant troops observed suspicious activity. On being challenged, terrorists opened fire and own troops retaliated. Operation is in progress,” the post said.Reports said that a cordon was thrown around the area which has a thick cover of forests and additional reinforcements were brought in to prevent the gunmen from escaping.In a second post on Wednesday morning, the army said that one militant was gunned down in the ongoing operation.“During the night of 31 Mar 26, the cordon was tactically reorganised amidst the intermittent firing underway. Own troops effectively retaliated with calibrated response resulting in one terrorist eliminated. Operation is in progress,” the post said.It was not immediately known whether any arms and ammunition was recovered from the deceased militant.The central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district where the encounter is underway is home to a J&K police training academy. A significant portion of the strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway, lifeline of the armed forces in the high-altitude desert bordering China, also passes through the district.On October 20, 2024, a Kashmiri doctor and six migrant workers were killed when a group of suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militants stormed the construction site of Z-Morh tunnel in Gagangir area of Ganderbal.According to security agencies, some members of the same group of militants were involved in the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22 last year in which at least 26 civilians, most of them tourists, were killed in Baisaran meadow.