Jammu, Aug 26 - A soldier and a villager were killed Wednesday by security personnel in an operation against militants that had started the day before in Jammu and Kashmir's mountainous Reasi district.

In the initial assault on the militant hideout in Hajjin in Reasi's Mahore area, about 150 km from here, a militant was killed Tuesday morning. The exchange of bullets continued through the day and militants redoubled fire, police said, killing a villager and a soldier.

'Militants are taking advantage of the heights and forests,' a police official, adding that the gunfight continued.

The operation is being carried out by a joint team of the Indian Army and the state police.

This is the fourth major operation in Mahore in the past fortnight.

Earlier, security forces killed eight militants in three different operations on Aug 10, 14 and 17 in the same area. The area, which has many caves, offers hiding places to militants.