Acting on a tip off, police assisted by army and CRPF cordoned off Warpora mohalla Ibrahim in Sopore town, 60 kms from here, this morning and engaged the militants holed up there in a gunbattle, a police spokesman said.

In the fierce exchange of fire, a JeM divisional commander Barakutallah Ansari alias Hyder, a resident of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), was killed while four army personnel were injured, he said.

Hyder was formerly chief commander of Al-Badr outfit and had defected recently to JeM, the spokesman said adding he was acting as a coordinator between different militant outfits.

Hyder was wanted in several cases of murders and subversive acts in north Kashmir, he said.

In another encounter Police with the help of troops of 22 Rashtriya Rifles and 179 battalion of the CRPF during a joint search operation at village Badshah Mohalla DangerPora in Sopore town killed an LeT divisional commander Mohammad Abid Ali alias Qari Usman on Saturday evening.

The joint party of police and security forces came under heavy fire from militants near link road resulting in injuries to a 22 Rashtriya Rifles jawan.

The dreaded LeT militant involved in a number of cases of subversive activities and killings in the state, was killed in the retaliatory fire, the spokesman said.