Security personnel at the site of an encounter with militants in Kashmir. Lashkar terrorist involved in the killing of bank manager from Rajasthan gunned down in Shopian. Killer of school teacher Rajni Bala trapped in a raging encounter in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Surge in encounters comes at a time when Kashmir has been rattled by a series of target killings

A Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist who is believed to be involved in the killing of a young bank manager from Rajasthan in Kulgam earlier this month has been gunned down in south Kashmir's Shopian school along with his associate, officials said on Wednesday.

A senior police officer said the accused identified as Jan Mohd Lone, a resident of Shopian, was killed in an overnight encounter in the Kanjuilar area of south Kashmir's Shopian district. "He was involved in the killing of Ellaquai Dehati Bank manager in Kulgam," the officer said.

Vijay Kumar, a resident of Rajasthan's Hanumangarh, was shot dead by terrorists at Areh Mohanpora in Kulgam district on June 2. The video of the killer entering the bank and shooting Kumar before escaping from the area had gone viral on social media.

The identity of the second terrorist killed in the encounter has not been ascertained yet. Police said a cache of arms and ammunition has been recovered from the site of the encounter.

Meanwhile, another encounter is underway in the adjoining Kulgam district of south Kashmir where a group of two to three terrorists have taken refuge in a residential building. The encounter had broken out on Tuesday evening when a joint team of security forces laid a cordon around a suspected hideout of the terrorists.

"As the search team approached the hideout, the hiding terrorists opened fire, triggering the gunfight. Due to nightfall, the encounter was put on hold and additional reinforcements were deployed in the area to prevent the terrorists from escaping," the officer said.

The police officer quoted above said that the exchange of gunfight again resumed in the Mishipora area of Kulgam district on Wednesday morning after a night-long lull. The officer said the killer of Rajni Bala, a school teacher who was shot dead outside her school on May 31, is one of the terrorists trapped in the building.

Rajni, 36, a resident of Samba in Jammu, was shot dead barely some meters from Government High School Gopalpora in Kulgam where she was posted. Her husband is also a teacher.

More than 100 terrorists have been gunned down in encounters with security forces this year in Kashmir till June 14 which includes more than two dozen foreign terrorists. This is double the number of terrorists killed in the the the corresponding period last year.

The spike in militant killings comes at a time when Kashmir has been rattled by a series of targeted attacks on Kashmiri Pandits and other minorities.

According to official figures, at least 19 persons have been gunned down in targeted attacks in Kashmir this year.