An army captain and two militants were killed and a soldier injured in a night-long fierce clash in south Kashmir, official sources said on Saturday.

They said troops of 55 Rashtriya Rifles and the police launched a joint operation at a village in Pulwama district on Friday night. However, when troops were about to storm a particular house, militants hiding inside opened fire and hurled grenades at them.

Reinforcements were rushed from the nearby camps and the cordon around the house was further tightened. Troops retaliated after the holed up militants refused to surrender.

An army captain and a soldier were injured in the shootout, sources said, adding the injured were admitted to hospital. The captain later succumbed to his injuries, the sources said.

Two militants were also killed in the encounter, they said. Body of only one militant has so far been recovered from under the debris. Search in the area was still going on.