A self-styled commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and a police constable were killed in a gun battle in Kishtwar district on Tuesday.

On a tip off about the presence of LeT terrorist Abu Hamza in Kurar village of Bonjwah tehsil, 26 Rashtriya Rifles and police laid a cordon of the area, official sources said.

During the search operation, terrorists fired on the operation party, who retaliated and in the ensuing gun battle that continued for four hours the terrorist was shot dead.

Police constable Kiker Singh was also killed in the encounter, they said, adding that two other terrorists, who were in the cordon along with Hamza, managed to escape. An AK-56 rifle and a magazine was found from the encounter site.