Elsewhere in the state, two foreign mercenaries, including a self-styled district commander of banned Hizbul Mujahideen and a counter-insurgent were among five people killed in separate incidents, while two Pakistani nationals involved in militancy were arrested during the period, an official spokesman said here today.

He said four people were killed and another critically wounded when an explosive device planted by militants on the roadside at Madana-Surankote in border district of Poonch exploded at around 9.30 am today.

Three persons, including a woman, were killed and 38 wounded in a powerful explosion in a busy market at Duroo, 74 kms from here in Anantnag district last evening.

The explosion occurred as militants lobbed a grenade which burst near a waiting passenger bus bound for Qazigund,resulting in on-the-spot death of two persons and injuries to 39 others.

The injured were rushed to a hospital in Srinagar where one of them succumbed to his injuries today, the spokesman said.

The spokesman said another explosion occurred in a paddy field at village Drigam in Badgam district last night. However, no harm was caused.

Meanwhile, two counter-insurgents associated with Ikhwan outfit were seriously wounded when the vehicle carrying them ran over a land-mine planted by militants in Bandipora area of Baramulla district last evening, official sources said.

The injured, Mohammad Sultan Ganai and Shabir Ahmad Sofi, were rushed to hospital, the spokesman said. Two foreign mercenaries, one of them identified as Sardar Ibrahim Abdullah of Pakistan and self-styled district commander of banned Hizbul Mujaideen, were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces at village Malut-Leasan in Rajouri district last night.

The spokesman said security forces apprehended two Pakistani mercenariesidentified as Nazir Hussain and Tariq during search operations at Kotranka village last evening. Two pistols and an AK assault rifle were recovered from the duo who were involved in a number of militancy-related incidents in the border district, the spokesman added.

He said militants shot dead a surrendered militant, Bashir Ahmad Bungroo at Kalamdanpora in downtown Srinagar last night. Bungroo was associated with Ikhwan before he surrendered before security forces recently.

The spokesman said body of one Mohammad Aslam Shah was recovered from a paddy field near his village at Marhang village in Pulwama district today.

``He seems to have been hanged to death,'' the spokesman said, adding a piece of rope was recovered from the scene by police.

Police also picked up the body of an unidentified person from Turmargali in frontier district of Kupwara today. The body bore bullet wounds, police said.