Srinagar, March 16 : Security forces shot dead three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in a gunfight in Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday. Police said the slain militants were involved in the killing of a Sarpanch, Sameer Ahmed Bhat last week. They said the gunfight erupted on the outskirts of Srinagar at Nowgam when security forces launched an anti militancy operation around midnight following an input about the presence of militants in the area. “We got an input last night that three to four terrorists are hiding in Nowgam. After this Police, Army and CRPF laid a cordon in the area. The exchange of fire started at 2 am. The operation was put on hold till civilians were evacuated from the area. In the encounter, three terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed,” Kashmir’s Inspector General of Police, Vijay Kumar said. He said one AK-47 rifle, and two pistols were recovered from the encounter site. The IGP identified the two slain militants as Adil Teli and Saqib Tantray of Shopian. The third one is most probably Umer Teli, he said The IGP said the three slain militants were involved in the killing of Sarpanch Sameer Ahmed Bhat of Khonmoh on the outskirts of Srinagar last week. Kumar said they have busted all the modules which were involved in the recent targeted killing of panchayat members, an off duty CRPF jawan and a soldier. MJR ACL1225