Three top militants belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit were killed in a fierce gunfight in north Kashmir on Thursday.

A police spokesman said that troops of 2 Para-regiment of the Army and the police surrounded the Batnor Kooligam forest area of the frontier Kupwara district early on Thursday morning.

"As the troops were scanning the forest, they came under heavy gunfire from a group of militants, triggering a fierce gunfight. The gunfight ended today afternoon, resulting in the death of the three Jaish militants, whose identities are still being established," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, police arrested a trooper of the Central Reserve Police Force at Pulwama in south Kashmir on Thursday. A grenade and one-and-half-kg improvised explosive device were recovered.

"The constable, identified as Mohammad Yussuf Bhat of the 183 batallion of the CRPF, has been arrested. The police have taken cognisance of the case and started investigations," the spokesman added.