A militant who had been hiding in a house in Kashmir’s Kulgam and opened fire when security forces raided the area was shot dead on Wednesday, taking the toll in the two-day anti-militancy operation to three as more raids were under way.

“One more terrorist has been killed and joint parties are carrying out searches in the area,” a police officer said.

The body of the militant is being retrieved and his identity ascertained.

The gunfight had resumed at the encounter site in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the operation was presumed to be over with the death of two militants, including top commander Basit Dar.

The operation had started on Monday evening in Redwani village of Kulgam. Two militants, including Dar, the chief of Lashkar’s frontal outfit The Resistance Front, were shot dead on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the militant hiding in a locked house opened fire after seeing security forces moving closer to the building, said police sources.

The police raid was carried out after the security forces, looking for militants involved in an attack in Poonch, had no success on the fifth day. An Indian Air Force officer was killed and five others were injured in the Poonch attack last Saturday.

“There was no firing for more than 24 hours in Kulgam since Tuesday afternoon as it was presumed that the third militant, who was at the encounter site, might have escaped,” a source said.

“Though the firing had stopped, the cordon and search operation was not called off. There was suspicion about a locked house. As the forces got closer to the building, a barrage of fire came from it, leading to the gunfight today (Wednesday),” the source said.