Four soldiers, including an Indian Army Major, were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday. The search operations are currently underway.

The encounter comes four days after 49 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred in a terrorist attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Pulwama.

According to reports, the encounter took place at Pinglan village when security forces launched a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) which led to firing between the forces and militants. CASO was initiated after the security forces received intel about some militants hiding in the area.

Pulwama attacks
Indian security forces inspect the remains of a vehicle following an attack on a paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy that killed at least 16 troopers and injured several others near Awantipur town in the Lethpora area of Kashmir about 30km south of Srinagar on February 14, 2019.STR/AFP/Getty Images [Representational Image]

A civilian was also reportedly killed in the encounter, NDTV reported.

The soldiers were identified as Major DS Dondial, head constable Seva Ram, and sepoys Gulzar Ahmad, Ajay Kumar, Hari Singh.

INDIA-PAKISTAN-UNREST-KASHMIR
An Indian man on his chariot crosses over a banner depicting a Pakistani flags and an image of Jaish-e-Mohammad group chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, as activists of Hindu Suraksha Samiti (HSS) shout slogans against Pakistan during a protest against the killing of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, in Amritsar on February 17, 2019.NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images [Representational Image]

"As the cordon was tightened, the militants fired at the forces, triggering a gunfight. In the initial firing, five security personnel, including a major, were killed. The owner of the house, where the militants were hiding, was also killed in the incident," sources told Deccan Herald.