Two militants, soldier killed in gunfight near Jammu ahead of Modi's visit

Two suspected terrorists and a security force member have been killed in India’s Jammu when a fierce gun battle erupted between the militants and a bus carrying 15 law enforcers.

The incident occurred in the city’s Sunjwan cantonment area on Friday morning after the Central Industrial Security Force, or CISF, went there on information about the presence of at least two terrorists, Indian broadcaster NDTV reports.

At least four others have been injured in the gunfight. The presence of terrorists near a vital military installation in the city is a major security concern ahead of the first political visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jammu and Kashmir after the former state's special status was revoked in August 2019.

The dead security personnel was an assistant sub inspector, according to the CISF. “Terrorists holed up at Sunjwan were planning a major attack. The aim was to inflict maximum casualties on security forces," Jammu and Kashmir police chief Dilbag Singh said.

The army installation camp had been targeted once before by suspected terrorists on Feb 18, which had left several people dead, according to the private broadcaster.

Since last month, there has been a spurt in militancy in the Kashmir Valley where four rural government officials have been killed, and several migrant workers have been injured in targeted attacks.