A soldier and a Special Operation Group (SoG) man was killed in an encounter that broke out in Zantrag area of Khrew in South Kashmir’s Puwlama district, officials told wire-service Kashmir News Observer (KNO) on Tuesday.Officials said that joint teams of army’s 50 RR, 185 battalion CRPF and J&K police laid a siege at Zantrag area after receiving a lead about the presence of militants in the area. “Till 12 noon, there was no exchange of fire. When the security forces zeroed in on the suspected area, the hiding militants opened fire at the forces triggering of an encounter. In the initial exchange of fire, a soldier and a SoG man were hit by bullets and they were immediately whisked away to hospital,” the official said.He said the soldier and the SoG man succumbed to their injuries. A top police official told KNO that a massive man-hunt has been launched in the area to nab the militants.“So far no militant body has been recovered. Search to find out militants is on. The operation has not been called off,” he said. The slain soldier was identified as Rahul of 50 RR and cop as Shahbaz Ahmed, a resident of Rajouri. (KNO)