Mendhar, Jan 7 : The gun battle between army personnel and militants here continued for the seventh consecutive day on Wednesday.

According to defence sources, an intense gun battle continued with army troops firing rockets and mortars targeting the militants'' cave hideouts in Bhati Dhar forest area.

Security forces have cordoned off the area around the forest while the search operations have been partially hindered due to the dense forests.

Thick forests, terraces and a number of natural caves, are providing hideouts to the militants.

It is estimated that there are approximately six to seven militants holed up in the area with lots of stock of food, arms and ammunitions.

The army personnel are determined to prevent any escape of militants. Four militants, one policeman and two soldiers have died in the encounter which began on Thursday in Mendhar area of Poonch district close to Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The militants are suspected to owe allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit.

The deceased army men have been identified as Subedar Rakesh Kumar and Naik A P Singh of counter-insurgency outfit Rashtriya Rifles.

The encounter appears to be one of the longest in the state in recent memory. (ANI)