In the biggest crackdown after the February 14 attack by a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF troopers in Pulwama district, the security forces ringed a militant hideout in Pinglena village, just 10 km from the terror attack site, triggering a gun battle overnight Sunday which continued intermittently till Monday evening.

A Major and three soldiers besides a civilian were killed in the initial burst of gunfire by the militants. The Army, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) fought back, killing three militants of the Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), two of them Pakistani nationals identified as Kamran and Abdul Rashid alias Ghazi Umar.

The soldiers who died were identified as Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, Hawaldar Sheo Ram and Sepoys Hari Singh and Ajay Kumar. The third slain militant was identified as Bilal Ahmed Naik, a Kashmiri.

The security forces recovered the bodies of two militants and were carrying out searches in the area when another militant hiding in a cow shed suddenly opened fire, injuring Deputy Inspector General of Police Amit Kumar, Brigadier Harbir Singh, a Lt Colonel, a Captain and five soldiers and a Sub-Inspector of SOG.

Amit Kumar's Personal Security Officer (PSO), Abdul Rashid, was killed.

All the injured, were rushed to the 92 Base Hospital of the Army, police said.

Kamran reportedly masterminded the February 14 attack on the CRPF, inflicting the worst loss suffered by security forces at one go since militancy erupted in the state in 1989.

Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia had earlier said that one of the two slain Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives was a top commander and belonged to Pakistan. The civilian who died was identified as Mushtaq Ahmad.

As the fighting raged, civilians poured out of their homes in nearby areas and pelted stones at the security personnel in a bid to help the militants escape.

The security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.

"Citizens are requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since it is a prohibited zone and can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials," an official said.

"People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosive materials if any."