Security forces on Thursday night gunned down eight militants while they were trying to sneak past the Line of Control from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir into India in north Kashmir Kupwara district.

A senior police officer said a group of armed militants were spotted by the security forces in Keran sector's Hema village.

All of them were killed when they challenged the security forces' order to surrender.

"All the bodies have been recovered from the encounter site. A police party has also rushed to the spot," said Kupwara Senior Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar.

A huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the militants, he added.

Meanwhile, three militants and an army officer were killed and two jawans injured in a fierce gunbattle in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir [Images], official sources said in Srinagar [Images].

Militants opened fire on security forces from a shopping complex in Bandipora market, killing Lieutenant Colonel Chauhan and injuring two Border Security Force jawans, they said.

In the retaliatory firing by the security forces, three militants were killed, sources said adding, two top floors of the four-storey building caught fire in the encounter.

With PTI inputs