The IED was planted by militants near lower Munda, about 100 km from here, and detonated when a CRPF convoy was passing by the only road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country.

The Sub-Inspector was killed instantly in the blast, the second on the highway, yesterday.

Hizbul Mujahideen militants had detonated an IED at Digdol, killing four Army men and wounding 19 around noon yesterday.

In the second incident of its kind, an unidentified militant drove an explosive-laden truck to the main gate of the Special Operations Group (SOG) camp at Magam in Badgam district of central Kashmir last evening and blasted it, killing himself, a CRPF jawan and a civilian, besides injuring seven personnel of the paramilitary force.

The militant drove the truck carrying heavy explosive material after crossing barricades and triggered the blast near the main gate of the camp, damaging the security picket. The militant and the truck were blown into pieces.

In a similar incident last year, a militant of Jaish-e-Mohammad had blown himself up in Badamibagh cantonment outside the Army headquarters.

A defence spokesman said seven Pakistani infiltrators were killed in an attempt to sneak into the Kashmir valley through the Razdan Pass in Kupwara Sector today.

Troops guarding the northern borders laid an ambush along the possible route of militants following specific information that a group of militants had crossed the Line of Control to sneak into the valley, the spokesman said.

He said alert troops challenged the infiltrators soon after they had sneaked into the Indian territory and in the following gunfight, seven militants were killed and a big cache of arms and ammunition recovered from them.

In another successful operation, troops gunned down three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants during search operations at Trigam village in north Kashmir last night. One of the deceased militants was identified as Abu Hafiz of Karachi (Pakistan).

Troops of the Rashtriya Rifles killed an unidentified militant during search operations at Kreeri in Sangrama area of Baramula in north Kashmir.

A truck driver and his assistant were killed by unidentified militants at Satkuji-Rajwar in Handwara area of Kupwara district last night. The motive behind their killing was not known.

Two civilians identified as Abdul Ahmad Mir and Abdul Gani Tantray were killed and six, including three BSF personnel, injured in three separate IED explosions at Sofigund, Amirabad and Pohu in Pulwama district of south Kashmir since last evening.

A top counter-insurgent leader associated with Ikhwan, Ghulam Hassan Mir, was shot dead by militants along with his accomplice Munir Hussain at Arigoripora in Kangan area of Srinagar early today.