Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in the forests of Bandipora district of north Kashmir today. Acting on a tip off, army troops launched a search operation to flush out militants hiding in a forest on the outskirts of Bandipora town, 55 kms from Srinagar, early today.Defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel J S Brar said, the search party confronted a group of hiding militants and asked them to surrender. However, the ultras opened fire in an attempt to break the security cordon and in the ensuing gun battle, three militants were killed. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants could not be ascertained immediately as the operation was still continuing when last reports were received.