Three unidentified militants were killed in an ongoing encounter at Naugam sector of Handwara in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Thursday.A senior police officer told news agency GNS that army's 35 RR who are manning the Line of Control (LoC) intercepted a group of five to six infiltrators today in the morning near Toot Mari Gali (TMG) in the sector.The group of militants after being challenged opened fire triggering off an encounter, he said."Two militants have been killed during the initial exchange of firefight", he said, adding that the remaining members of the group later hide themselves inside the dense bushes of the nearby Marsari area.With the help of sniffer dogs, the joint team of forces again intercepted the remaining members of the group and later engaged them in a gunfight."In the gunfight one more militant has been killed", he said, adding that the cordon-and-search operation in the area is still going on to track down the other members of the group."All the three militant bodies have been recovered along with as many AK-47 rifles and other war like stores", he said.Earlier, the official sources said that soon after the gunfight, the additional reinforcement of 18 JAT and Ist Naga has been rushed to the area and joined the operation. (GNS)