Three hardcore United Liberation Front of Assam militants were killed in two separate encounters with the army and police on Tuesday in Assam's Dibrugarh district.

Acting on a tip-off that a group of hardcore ULFA cadres had entered Manabhum Reserve Forest bordering Arunachal Pradesh, troops of 19 Kumaon Regiment launched an operation and killed a militant, defence sources said.

A self-loading rifle, some extortion notes, a DVD player, a mobile phone and a list of persons from whom ULFA extorts money, were recovered from him.

In a seperate incident, the police acting on a tip-off that 12 hardcore ULFA cadres were holed up inside a forest at Pasalu in the Tingkhong police station area launched an operation on Tuesday morning. Two militants were killed by the evening.

The two militants were identified as corporals in 28^th Battalion's C company, the organisation's strike force responsible for operations in Upper Assam and the killing of Hindi-speaking people in the area.

The 28^th Battalion received a major blow recently with the arrest of its Commander Prabal Neog along with his wife Purabi Neog at Tezpur on September 17.