Police say suspected militants have shot and killed two National Conference party workers in the Karfali Mohalla area of Srinagar.

Police say the shootings outside a meat shop in Srinagar on Friday also wounded another worker.

The deceased have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Wani and Nazir Ahmad Bhat. Shakeel Ahmad Ganai was rushed to the hospital and is undergoing treatment.

Security forces have launched an operation to track down the militants, the police said. The killings come just three days ahead of polling for the first phase of elections to urban local bodies in Jammu & Kashmir.

National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party have boycotted the elections on the grounds that the state's special status under Article 35-A of the Constitution is under threat due to the legal challenge to this provision in the Supreme Court.