Seven more terrorists were killed on Saturday in a fierce encounter in a jungle in Machhil sector of north Kashmir.

"The seven terrorists were killed in fresh exchange of fire, which began in the wee hours of Saturday, taking the death toll of terrorists in the operation to 12," army sources said.

An officer of the rank of colonel and three jawans were also killed in the encounter on Friday, but there were no casualties on the security forces side on Saturday, they said.

Col J J Joseph, commanding officer of the 45 Rashtriya Rifles, is the highest ranking army official to have been killed in counter-insurgency operations in the last one year.

Army troops had laid a cordon of the jungle area in in Machhil sector of Kupwara district, killing five terrorists early Friday.

This is the first major encounter with terrorists in the hinterland, and comes as reports suggest a steep increase in infiltration attempts by militants and LoC violations by the Pakistani troops.