Srinagar, Sep 24 - Two guerrilla commanders were gunned down by the security forces during an operation in south Kashmir Thursday, police said.

A senior police officer said troops of 9 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) surrounded a forest area near Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on specific information about presence of a group of heavily armed guerrillas there.

As the security forces were searching the area, militants opened fire at them. The fire was returned, triggering a fierce gunfight which ended after Manzoor Ahmad Patal, divisional commander of Hizbul Mujaheedin, and Rashid Sheikh, district commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, were killed, the officer said.

Patal was active in the hilly areas of Ramban since 1995 and was an expert in bomb making.

Arms and ammunition, including two AK-56 rifles and six magazines, as well as a mobile phone were recovered from the slain guerrillas, according to police.

Four army troops, including an officer, and four guerrillas were killed in two separate fierce encounters in north Kashmir that ended Wednesday.