Four policemen were killed and several others injured on Saturday in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore town.

The powerful IED explosion ripped through the Sopore market area, which was immediately cordoned off, police said. Separatists had called

for a protest shutdown and a march in the town on Saturday.

The injured were shifted to hospital. A search operation is underway, a police officer said.

Heavy deployment of security forces was already in place to maintain law and order situation in the wake of separatist-called protest shutdown in Sopore.