Two militants were arrested and two of their hideouts smashed by security forces even as militants shot at and critically wounded one person in the State during the period, an official spokesman said here today.

Meanwhile, Pakistani troops resorted to firing and shelling in Keran sector in the frontier region of Kupwara since last evening but no loss of life was reported.

The spokesman said an explosive device was detected in the premises of Ziyarat Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar last night. The device was planted by militants with the malafide design to blow up the shrine where martyrs of 1931 are also buried, the spokesman said.

The device was neutralized by the bomb disposal squad, the spokesman said. He said two foreign mercenaries,including a Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) national, were killed in two separate encounters in Kupwara last evening. He said a civilian was killed during exchange of fire between militants and security forces in Kupwara district yesterday.

Militants shot dead two brothers in village Khankhadi near border district of Rajouri in Jammu region last night.