The security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the area on the outskirts of the city, following information about the presence of militants there, they said.

The operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing on the security forces' positions, police said, and added that the two militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight.

The slain militants were affiliated to the proscribed Al Badr terror outfit and they have been identified as Wasim Bashir Pandit and Mudasir Ahmad Khanday, a police spokesman said.

Weapons and explosives, including two pistols, were recovered from the scene of the encounter, he added.